Iran’s allied militias are regaining strength in the Middle East, posing a threat to the US and Israel. After three difficult years, these armed groups loyal to Tehran appear to be bouncing back across the region, reinforcing Iran’s leverage in its war with the United States and Israel.

Background

For decades, experts say, these groups played a key role: acting as a powerful deterrent against direct attacks on Iran. The Axis of Resistance, an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias backed by the Islamic Republic, was significantly weakened by Israel’s large-scale military response to the 2023 Hamas attack and the regional repercussions that followed.

However, several armed groups allied with Tehran are back to pressuring Iran’s foes by opening new fronts that complicate the war and threaten to choke the global economy. The Houthis in Yemen have opened another front to the Iran war, taking on Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.

Implications

The resurgence of Iran’s allied militias has significant implications for the region and the world. It reflects the increasingly coordinated use of the Axis of Resistance to transform periods of confrontation into opportunities to consolidate gains, reshape facts on the ground, and strengthen Iran’s regional leverage.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has reaffirmed the country’s support for Hezbollah in a letter addressed to its leader Naim Qassem. He described the group as being at the forefront of Iran’s resistance to Israel, adding that defending Hezbollah remained one of the Islamic Republic’s strategic policies.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.