Think tank Washington Institute released an interactive map showcasing Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East by detailing the whereabouts, operations and force deployments of Iran-backed militias in the region. Groups backed by Iran , which include Hamas, Hizbullah and Houthis, have been amassing higher-quality weapons over the past decade. Our maps show the capabilities of their arsenal. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has built a network of proxies across the Middle East. As of 2022, Tehran had allies among more than a dozen major militias , some with their own political parties, that challenged local and neighboring governments. Iran ’s geopolitical clout in the Middle East has long hinged on its support for a network of proxy groups — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various militias in Iraq and Syria. This first report in the series unpacks Iran ’ s militia doctrine – the foundation of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy by which Tehran has sought to expand its reach, influence and military capabilities. For decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has organised and supported militias dominated by members of the Arab countries’ Shiite Muslim communities. They did this in the name of resisting Israel—until the Arab uprising of 2011 and the subsequent turmoil in Syria, Iraq, and beyond. During the U.S. Presence in Iraq, from 2003 to 2011, more than 600 American soldiers were killed by these Iran - backed militias in complex attacks, ambushes, and IED and EFP attacks. The Washington Institute released an interactive map showcasing Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East by detailing the whereabouts, operations and force deployments of Iran-backed militias in the region. A key Iranian proxy is found among the Iraqi Shia , who have a history with Iran that goes back to the Saddam Hussein era but whose full value to Tehran only started to be realized after the 2003 US invasion made Iraq’s largest community dominant in that nation’s politics.
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