Hezbollah–Iran relations
This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.The Islamic Republic of Iran is a key patron of the Lebanese Shia Islamist militia and political party Hezbollah.
Iranian support, including financial aid, deployment of Revolutionary Guards, and training, has played an important role in Hezbollah's formation and development.
The organization's founders adopted the model outlined by Ayatollah Khomeini after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and its forces were trained by a contingent of Revolutionary Guards from Iran.
[5] Lebanese Hezbollah, or the "Party of God," emerged from an Iranian initiative to unite various militant Shi’a groups in Lebanon during a period of domestic and regional instability, particularly the country's civil war.
Initially, Hezbollah operated as a network of radical Shia paramilitary groups with shared strategic goals, such as establishing an Islamic republic, but differing on tactical matters.
[8] In July 1982, Iran reacted to the war by deploying 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advisers to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley with the aim of establishing and training a new Shiite militia, which later transformed into Hezbollah.
Under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the fighters underwent guerrilla training, and military material was established in the Bekaa Valley in 1982.
[10][11] Despite attempts to maintain separation, evidence, including declassified information, revealed the close relationship between Hezbollah, its Islamic Jihad terrorist wing, and Iran.
[12] In 1983 the CIA reported that Islamic Jihad “more likely is a cover used by Iran for its terrorist operations, whether employing local Shias in Lebanon or locally recruited agents of other nationalities” and that “[s]urrogates provide Iran with an excellent means for creating the illusion that an independent, international organization is at work against U.S. interests.”[13] The use of the Islamic Jihad alias was an attempt to create the illusion of an independent, international organization working against U.S. interests.
[3] This increased funding is thought to align with Iran's interest in destabilizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to US intelligence, Hezbollah serves as a key proxy in achieving this objective.
The support extends beyond cash funds, with Iranian cargo planes delivering weapons, including rockets and small arms, to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
[31] Mahmoud Ali Suleiman, the Hezbollah operative captured by the IDF in August 2006 for his involvement in the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers during a cross-border raid on July 12, confessed during his interrogation to receiving weapons training and religious instruction in Iran.
[34][35][36] On March 27, 1992, Islamic Jihad, a group linked to Hezbollah, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing outside the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, resulting in 20 deaths and 252 injuries.
[39][40] May 17, 1995: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Shura Council member Mohammad Yazbek as his religious representatives in Lebanon.
[43][44] Jane's Defence Weekly, a defense industry magazine, disclosed on August 4, 2006, that during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Hezbollah formally requested Iran to provide a continuous stream of weapons to bolster its operations against Israel.
"[49] During a 2007 interview with the Iranian Arabic-language TV station al-Qawthar, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassem stated that the endorsement of the ayatollahs in Tehran is necessary for all suicide bombings and other operations in Lebanon.
