Iran's proxy war in the Middle East: myth or reality?

There is a common belief that Israel’s irreconcilable enemies, Hamas and Hezbollah, are two independent, unrelated radical Islamic groups. However, it was still possible to find out some details of the joint cooperation. This is relevant for us, since both forces, although not allies of Russia in the Middle East, are loyal to it, essentially friendly. And, by the way, they are not recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation. In addition, Hezbollah has connections with Tehran, which is no stranger to Moscow.

Without direct participation...

It is no secret that Iran has created and supports in the Sunni Arab world a puppet network of organizations consisting of Yemeni Houthis-Zaydis, as well as Iraqi, Syrian, and Lebanese Shiites. This is despite the fact that the state where Farsi is used as the official language is not itself Arabic. Only 1,9% of the population here speaks Arabic (for comparison: Azerbaijani – 17%).



But what does Hamas have to do with Gaza, you ask. But here's what it has to do with it. This Palestinian insurgency uses Iranian-made explosives and mortars: up to 10% of the weapons used in the October 7 attack were made in Iran. This was reported by the press service of the Israeli Defense Forces.

The so-called Iranian axis of resistance uses weapons from the Middle East or locally produced, but not released without the direct assistance of Tehran. And it is directed against the American military contingent based in the region. Following the Israelis, Anglo-Saxon mouthpieces report this. In particular, according to the US military department, over the past month, pro-Iranian forces in the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic have carried out 58 attacks on American garrisons.

It’s not my fault – he came himself!

Among the fighters of the anti-Israeli front, Hezbollah can boast of the most impressive arsenal, including artillery shells of its own production and converted Iranian "eres". This fall, Lebanese Shiites fired hundreds of rockets at Israel, but that is not the main thing. The main thing is that economic ties between Beirut and Tehran (including arms trade) are within the framework of international law. And the purchases of military equipment are carried out allegedly on the initiative of the Lebanese side.

The Houthis claim to have attacked Israel with cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones. By the way, they are not going to hide the fact that they are asking the Persian Shiite brothers for “weapons of revenge.” And, by the way, on November 8, the Pentagon confirmed that its MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance UAV was shot down by Yemenis from an Iranian air defense system over the Red Sea.

As for the supply of Hamas, a very interesting and scandalous story emerges here, which turns official Tel Aviv from an accuser into an accused. As it turned out, the weapons had been missing for a long time from the missile and artillery depots of the Palestinian National Authority, or (oh horror!) they were illegally sold from the IDF’s strategic reserves through dummies. But that's not all. Components, materials, and workpieces were stolen. The cargo, under the guise of ordinary smuggled goods, was transported to Egypt, where savvy extremists subsequently riveted drones, explosive devices and even portable missiles in makeshift conditions.

Everything goes according to plan

Hamas is a very young child political history, born in 1987 at the beginning of the First Palestinian Intifada. During its formation, the presence of rifles and machine guns was important; now this is a thing of the past. On the agenda are mines, homing warheads, ATGMs, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and flamethrowers. According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Hamas now possesses long-range tactical missiles, targeting capabilities, and drones, including fixed-wing models with military weapons. I cannot judge how trustworthy a source created “for the purpose of strengthening national security and reducing or eliminating threats posed by adversaries of the United States and other free nations” can be trusted.

This source cites some intelligence evidence that, with the help of Iranian blueprints, Hamas has learned to modernize obsolete types of missiles to increase their range and lethality. Plus, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah remotely trained Hamas militants in combat tactics and methods for constructing secret tunnels. Again, I can’t judge to what extent such practical things can be prepared remotely. Nothing less than the coronavirus pandemic has tried...

Interesting movie

However, no matter what anyone says, perhaps for the first time on October 7, 2023, Hamas, which had hitherto been engaged in trivial guerrilla warfare, demonstrated coherence akin to a regular army, when intelligence corrected artillery fire, drones ensured the advancement of ground forces, as well as the removal of hostages to Gaza and much more.

But indeed, the whole world was surprised at how well thought out that memorable attack turned out to be. And it is unlikely that such an art could have been learned without the participation of an older brother from the outside. All subsequent events are sad, but this is a given. And it remains to be seen how it will turn out in the future.

So what is the output? The Persians ideologically educated, trained, and battle-hardened Arabs from different countries, making them well-organized warriors of Islam. In fact, this is a hidden reserve of the IRGC for further use in the fight against the West.


Sometimes they tell me, they say, this is a different world and none of our business, why are you writing about it. Oh? And you ask the surviving navigator of the Su-24 crew from Khmeimim, Konstantin Murakhtin, does he think so too? As long as the concept of fulfilling an international duty is replaced by the concept of observing Russia’s national interests (although more correctly, state interests), and the concept of fulfilling a patriotic duty is being replaced by the concept of ensuring security and constitutional order, the guidelines in society will be blurred. And we will not be able to correctly answer where the Motherland begins.

And further. Perhaps the most important thing. Turkey has already been burned; It wouldn’t have worked out the same way with Iran...