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Since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the Iranian regime has worked to establish proxies and co-opt allies to expand its influence in the Middle East and oppose Israel, the U.S., and enemy Arab regimes throughout the region. In the current war between Israel and Iranian proxies and allies in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, these militias can serve as a strategic reserve and force multiplier for Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF) has had remarkable success in establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as supporting Hamas. These groups have received weapons, training, funding, and safe haven from Iran, and in turn, have worked to destabilize Israel, with the ultimate goal of the destruction of the state.
