The war launched by Hamas on 7 October has brought about an unprecedented level of coordination between Iran’s proxies, forcing Israel to fight a multi-front conflict for close to a year.
In this paper, we outline the origins of, and explain the threat posed by, Iranian proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
It outlines how this “Axis of Resistance” threatens the UK and our allies, seeks to block a two-state solution and Arab-Israeli normalisation, and aims to destroy Israel. It also details Tehran’s “ring of fire”: how, for decades, Iran has sought to surround Israel with hostile militias equipped with considerable firepower. The regime has thus funded and equipped Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank, the Houthis in Yemen, and militias in Syria and Iraq.
The increasingly radical Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the agency that leads this effort. The IRGC is the ideological vanguard of the Iranian regime, founded on a mission to secure and export Iran’s “Islamic revolution”, and seeing itself in a struggle with a “Arab-Zionist-western axis”.
The two-state solution is the only route through which long-term peace and security can be achieved for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Our paper makes clear that Iran and its proxies have no desire for peace, but rather seek perpetual war – to advance Tehran’s interests, not those of the Palestinians.
Click below to read a copy of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis: Iran’s “Axis of Resistance”:
