|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/01/iran-militias-gaza-israel/
Iran Showcases Its Reach with Militia Attacks across Middle East
(Washington Post) Liz Sly - The Gaza war has given Iran the opportunity to showcase its newly restructured network of allied militias, demonstrating Tehran's strategic reach while allowing it to keep a distance from the fight. On any given day since the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel, one of these militias has carried out an attack somewhere in the Middle East - and on some days several in different places. The Houthis in Yemen are targeting ships in the Red Sea; Kataib Hizbullah and other Iraqi groups are hitting U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria; and Lebanon's Hizbullah is engaged in daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces across the Israel-Lebanon border. The groups are all loyal to Iran, which arms, finances and inspires them. Together with Hamas, they constitute the main components of the "axis of resistance." Representatives of the militias collaborate and consult through a joint operations room that meets regularly, most often in Beirut.