In the past, Hezbollah has served a strategic arm of Iran in the region, playing a key role in the Iran–Israel and Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflicts.

Hezbollah's image in the Arab world – especially in Syria and Lebanon – has been greatly tarnished due to its sectarian activities throughout the course of the Syrian civil war.

Shi'i cleric Subhi al-Tufayli, the group's founder and principal architect during 1980s, fiercely denounced Hezbollah for abandoning its founding principles and accused it of serving the hegemonic ambitions of Iran and Russia.

An FSA spokesman said, "Hezbollah's invasion is the first of its kind in terms of organisation, planning and coordination with the Syrian regime's air force".

[22] The leaders of the March 14 alliance and other prominent Lebanese figures called on Hezbollah to end its involvement in Syria and said it is putting Lebanon at risk.

[26] According to the U.S., the Assad loyalist militia known as al-Jaysh al-Sha'bi was created and is maintained by Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, both of whom provide it with money, weapons, training and advice.

"[31] Syrian opposition's National Revolutionary Coation withdrew from the Geneva talks scheduled to be held on June; in denouncement of "Hezbollah and Iran's militia's invasion of Syria".

[9] In January 2015, Free Syrian Army groups and al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front launched an offensive against Hezbollah strongholds in the Jayrud area in the western Qalamoun Mountains, near the Lebanese border.

Media sources affiliated with the Syrian opposition report that the joint forces targeted a series of military checkpoints held by Hezbollah in the area surrounding the village of Flaita in Kalamoon.

A military official of al-Nusra reported that the ISIS presence in the area has exceeded 700 men, amid fears of escalating violence between both groups.

[47][48] In April, rebels reported that an SAA lieutenant Colonel was executed by the Lebanese Hezbollah militia over charges of ‘treason’ in al-Manshiya.

[citation needed] According to Al-Manar Television, the Israel Air Force reportedly attacked an Iranian arms depot near the Damascus International Airport early Thursday morning.

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan told Rossiya-24 news channel that Israel "should be disarmed" for the sake of restoring peace and security in the region and that it had [pursued] nothing but war and bloodshed.

[citation needed] Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called for all countries to refrain any kind of actions and respect of Syrian sovereignty in a press conference.

[68] National interest and other Western analysis noted the role of Hezbollah in turning the tides of the Syrian Civil War in favour of the government.

After the organization's role in Qusayr, Homs and Aleppo, the armed wing of the Lebanese Party gained political and military experience fighting in urban environments, and enlarged its alliance with Syria and Iran.

[10] Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked Hassan Nasrallah's policy for pursuing an Iranian agenda rooted in Shia sectarianism over a Sunni-majority country.

Qaradawi issued a fatwa for all able-bodied Muslim men to defend the lands of Syria from the aggressions of Ba'athist regime, Iran and Hezbollah.

The Aal sh-Shaykh urged all political leaders, activists and scholars of the Muslim World to raise awareness of Hezbollah activities in Syria and effectively combat it.

Influential Shia cleric Subhi al-Tufayli, founder and first Secretary-General of Hezbollah during 1989–1991, has slammed the militant group for its role in Syrian civil war.

Tufayli fiercely denounced the organization as part of an Iranian project that "plagues the Ummah" and accused it of waging a global sectarian war against Sunni brothers on the behest of Ali Khamenei.

Describing them as agents of Iran's socio-political monopoly over Lebanese Shi'ites, Tufayli condemned the organization for abandoning its original principles by serving imperialist powers and abetting Russian crimes against the Syrian people.

[12][87][88][89] Re-iterating his support for the Syrian revolution, Tufayli stated: "If there is anyone honorable among you [Hezbollah], then repent and reconsider, Do not be pawns serving the US and Russia.

Warplanes never leave its skies, its children are bombed night and day, Whoever allies with these people, American or Russian, I swear to God, he is an enemy.