(suspenseful music)
- Iran-backed groups form a land bridge
across the Middle East and connect in an alliance
that Iran calls the Axis of Resistance.
Its focus, to oppose the West.
They can both transport equipment and personnel,
but they can also use these positions to attack US interests
or threaten Israel closer to its borders.
The alliance has been brought into focus
amid the Hamas-Israel War
as the groups are mobilizing on multiple fronts.
- [Cameraperson] Whoa.
- At the same time.
So here's how Iran built out the network
across the Middle East
and what it means for the US and Israel.
So to show you
where Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance works
in the Middle East, we have Iran over here,
and then, of course, Hamas in Gaza over here
on the Mediterranean.
There's another group that Iran supports
in Gaza called the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
which is actually a closer ally of Iran ideologically,
but also working out of Gaza here and also in the West Bank.
Iran's most important militia ally
is Hezbollah here in Lebanon.
Aside from that,
they also have Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, here,
and various militant groups in Iraq.
And then, finally, they also have an alliance
with the Houthis in Yemen down here south.
These connections allow Iran
to expand its influence in the Middle East
and make it easier for the country
to transport military equipment, personnel,
and weapons through the region.
One of Iran's aims in the Middle East
is to always keep the fight or the military fight
as far away from its own borders as possible,
and the presence of these military allies
and the land bridge kinda helps it do that.
To understand why Iran has this belt of influence
in the region, we need to go back a few decades.
Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979,
Tehran has sought to exert military, cultural,
and ideological dominance across the Middle East.
That led to the creation of the Quds Force,
a branch of the Iranian military,
which was later led by Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani became famous in the West
over the past decade or so,
because Iran decided to elevate his profile
as the mastermind,
the architect behind this modern iteration
of the Axis of Resistance.
(Qassem speaking foreign language)
- [Sune] Later, Soleimani was killed
in a drone strike ordered by the US.
- Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks
on American diplomats and military personnel,
but we caught him in the act and terminated him.
- The strike was aimed at weakening Iran's ability
to threaten American interests
in Iraq and across the region.
But that goal hasn't materialized.
Iran has continued to supply groups such as Hamas
with weapons and training.
On October 7th,
Hamas, designated a terror organization by the US,
launched a broad assault on Israel, killing 1,200.
Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,
said immediately after the attack
that Iran did not have a hand in planning it,
but supported it.
(suspenseful music)
To try and curb Iran's influence,
the US works with allied countries
to have a presence of bases and troops
across the Middle East.
Of course, Israel here and Saudi Arabia here
as its two sort of main and closest allies
against Iranian influence.
Jordan has also for very long been a very firm US ally,
and the US also has partners in the Gulf.
The US also has a presence in some of the countries
where it's competing for influence with Iran,
for example, in Iraq, of course,
and the US also still has a military presence
in Northern Syria where it's been allied for many years
with Kurdish forces in the fight against Islamic state,
but now, also maintains a military presence
to sort of counter this Iranian land bridge
or the threat from Iran to US interests and allies.
Tehran-backed groups operating in this region
have been particularly active since October 7th.
So let's remove all of these
and take a look at what's been happening.
On October 7th, Hamas attacked Israel
here on the border with Gaza.
Israel responded with a major military offensive on Gaza.
But Iran's allies have also responded
to this Israeli attack from different sides.
Most importantly, the Hezbollah militia
in the northern part with Israel
has engaged in skirmishes with Israeli soldiers.
Iranian militias in Syria have also gotten closer
to the border where they have engaged in skirmishes.
Down here in Yemen, the Iranian allied Houthi rebels
have both fired rockets at Southern Israel,
but also captured a vessel in the Red Sea.
The Houthis also launched drones and missiles
to other commercial vessels in the area.
That led to a US-led multinational task force stepping in
to try and protect one
of the world's most vital shipping lanes.
And elsewhere, Iranian-backed militias
in Iraq and Syria conducted nearly 100 rocket attacks
against US forces over the past two months according
to the Pentagon.
Even though there's been these types of attacks
with increased frequency over the past decade or so,
in this context, of course, they compound pressure on Israel
and help sort of pressure Israel in this context
where they're fighting Hamas and Gaza.
(suspenseful music)
Although Iran's Axis of Resistance
has claimed attacks on multiple fronts
amid the Hamas-Israel War,
Middle East analysts believe a wider regional conflict
is unlikely for now.
Even though other parts of this alliance
have distanced themselves from the October 7th attacks,
the fact that there was a big attack on Israel
has given the alliance a bit of momentum,
but also put a little bit of pressure, to be honest,
on some of the other militant groups,
both to strike a bit of Israel
and to come to the defense of the Palestinians
who are now on the severe airstrikes
and the ground invasion in Gaza.
So far, groups in the alliance
have been sticking to calculated and strategic strikes
rather than moves that could risk a full blown conflict
with Israel and its allies.
(suspenseful music)