{"id":14020,"date":"2024-03-30T22:55:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T22:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/30\/a-common-link-in-mideast-conflicts-iran-and-its-proxies\/"},"modified":"2024-03-30T22:55:45","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T22:55:45","slug":"a-common-link-in-mideast-conflicts-iran-and-its-proxies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/30\/a-common-link-in-mideast-conflicts-iran-and-its-proxies\/","title":{"rendered":"A Common Link in Mideast Conflicts: Iran and Its Proxies"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/29\/multimedia\/29mideast-crisis-iran-proxies-tplh\/29mideast-crisis-iran-proxies-tplh-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"A Common Link in Mideast Conflicts: Iran and Its Proxies\" title=\"A Common Link in Mideast Conflicts: Iran and Its Proxies\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israel and Gaza. Yemen and the Red Sea. Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At flashpoints in conflicts spanning 1,800 miles and involving a hodgepodge of unpredictable armed actors and interests, there has been a common thread: Iran. Tehran has left its imprint with its behind-the-scenes backing of combatants around the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that tracks the war in Syria, said that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/03\/29\/world\/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news\/israel-strike-syria-aleppo?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">an Israeli strike killed at least 36 soldiers and hit multiple targets<\/a>, including a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militia that also has a presence in Syria. Israel did not comment on the claim.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Here\u2019s a look at Iran\u2019s proxies.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-282f37ab\"><span>What\u2019s the back story?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ever since the 1979 revolution that made Iran a Shiite Muslim theocracy, it has been isolated and has seen itself as besieged.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Iran considers the United States and Israel its biggest enemies \u2014 for more than four decades, its leaders have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/11\/01\/world\/middleeast\/iran-israel-hamas.html?searchResultPosition=18\" title=\"\">vowed to destroy Israel<\/a>. It also wants to establish itself as the most powerful nation in the Persian Gulf region, where its chief rival is Saudi Arabia, an American ally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With few allies of its own, Iran has long armed, trained, financed, advised and even directed several movements that share its enemies. Iran calls itself and these militias the \u201cAxis of Resistance\u201d to American and Israeli power.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-4f63e67e\"><span>Why does Iran outsource its conflicts?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although Iranian forces have been involved directly in wars in Syria and Iraq, Tehran has mostly fought its enemies abroad <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/14\/world\/middleeast\/us-iran-mideast-war.html?searchResultPosition=5\" title=\"\">by proxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Investing in proxy forces \u2014 fellow Shiites in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, and the Sunni Hamas in the Gaza Strip \u2014 allows Iran to cause trouble for its enemies, and to raise the prospect of causing more if attacked. This helps Iran project its power and influence without courting major retaliation or all-out war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf they are to avoid fighting the Americans and Israelis on Iran\u2019s soil, they\u2019ll have to do it elsewhere,\u201d said Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a policy analysis group. \u201cAnd that\u2019s in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Yet how well the strategy works <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/05\/world\/middleeast\/iran-terrorism-isis-israel.html?searchResultPosition=8\" title=\"\">is open to question<\/a>. Terrorist groups have attacked on Iranian soil, and for years Israel has carried out <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/13\/world\/middleeast\/israel-poison-iranian-scientists.html\" title=\"\">targeted attacks on Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Iranian officials have publicly denied being involved in or ordering Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. But they also <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/13\/world\/middleeast\/hamas-iran-israel-attack.html\" title=\"\">praised the assault as a momentous achievement<\/a>, and warned that their regional network would open <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/16\/world\/middleeast\/iran-gaza-israel-hamas.html?searchResultPosition=8\" title=\"\">multiple fronts<\/a> against Israel if the country kept up its retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some of those proxies have stepped up attacks on Israel, but have avoided full-fledged warfare.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-79262977\"><span>Who are these proxies for Iran?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/08\/27\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-iran-syria-israel-lebanon.html\" title=\"\">Hezbollah<\/a> in Lebanon, widely considered to be the most powerful and sophisticated of the Iran-allied forces, was founded in the 1980s with Iranian assistance, specifically to fight the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. The group, which is also a political party in Lebanon, has fought multiple wars and border skirmishes with Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hezbollah has been trading fire across the border with Israel\u2019s military almost daily since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks, but it has refrained from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/31\/world\/middleeast\/hezbollah-lebanon-israel-gaza.html\" title=\"\">fully joining the fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/11\/world\/middleeast\/houthi-yemen-red-sea-attacks.html\" title=\"\">Houthi movement in Yemen<\/a> launched an insurgency against the government two decades ago. What was once a ragtag rebel force gained power thanks at least in part to covert military aid from Iran, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/04\/17\/world\/middleeast\/yemen-houthis-gulf.html\" title=\"\">according to American and Middle Eastern officials and analysts.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since the war in Gaza began, the Houthis have waged what they call a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment. They have launched missiles and drones at Israel, and have disrupted a significant part of the world\u2019s shipping by attacking <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.centcom.mil\/MEDIA\/STATEMENTS\/Statements-View\/Article\/3643121\/us-centcom-statement-on-27th-houthi-attack-on-commercial-shipping-lanes-in-the\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">dozens of<\/a> vessels heading to or from the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hamas, in the Palestinian territories, has also received weapons and training from Iran, and has fought repeated wars with Israel. This week, the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/03\/26\/world\/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news\/the-political-leader-of-hamas-goes-to-iran-for-talks-state-media-reports?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">was in Tehran for meetings<\/a> with top Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran\u2019s chief of staff of the armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Baqeri.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Israel and Gaza. Yemen and the Red Sea. Lebanon, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria. At flashpoints in conflicts spanning 1,800 miles and involving a hodgepodge of unpredictable armed actors and interests, there has been a common thread: Iran. Tehran has left its imprint with its behind-the-scenes backing of combatants around the region. On Friday, the Syrian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/29\/multimedia\/29mideast-crisis-iran-proxies-tplh\/29mideast-crisis-iran-proxies-tplh-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5597,17008,19606,1411,7274,19607],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14020"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14022,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14020\/revisions\/14022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}