Latest news with #Shi'iteMuslims
Straits Times
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Iraq accuses Israel of using its airspace to attack Iran
A building that was hit by Israeli air strikes in central Tehran on June 13. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Iraq accuses Israel of using its airspace to attack Iran Follow our live coverage here. BAGHDAD - Iraq filed a complaint on June 13 with the United Nations Security Council over Israel's 'violation of Iraqi airspace' in a major attack on Iran, Baghdad's foreign ministry said. 'These practices constitute a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty,' the ministry said, calling on 'the Security Council to assume its responsibilities' and act to 'prevent the recurrence of such violations'. Early on June 13 , three missiles were found in Iraqi desert areas, one of them not yet exploded in the central Diyala province and two others in the southern province of Dhi Qar, according to two security sources. The sources said the missiles in Dhi Qar gouged a 4m deep crater in the ground. The Iraqi government has denounced the 'military aggression' launched by Israel against Iran, describing it as 'a blatant violation of the fundamental principles of international law'. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest religious authority for millions of Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq and around the world, also condemned 'the crime committed by the entity occupying Palestine'. He called on 'the international community to pressure this aggressor and its allies to prevent the repetition of such attacks'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Explainer: How Iran's network of Middle East power faded
June 12 (Reuters) - At previous moments of tension over decades of rivalry with Western foes, Iran was able to project power across the Middle East using a network of close allies that meant any strikes against it threatened to trigger a formidable response. Now, with talks deadlocked over its nuclear programme and U.S. President Donald Trump saying an Israeli strike on Iran "could very well happen," Tehran must face a fresh crisis with those capabilities greatly diminished. The United States killed the mastermind of Iran's regional network in 2020 and since the war in Gaza began 20 months ago, Israel has hammered Tehran's closest ally Hezbollah while rebels ousted its main regional partner, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Here is how Iran built up its "Axis of Resistance", how that network has come undone, and the regional resources Tehran can still count on. Iran spent decades after its 1979 Islamic Revolution developing a network of allies across the Middle East that accepted Tehran's leadership and shared its regional vision of fighting what they described as Western imperialism. This "Axis of Resistance", as it was dubbed, drew on the appeal of Iran's revolutionary theocratic ideas to traditionally marginalised fellow Shi'ite Muslims across the region, and on its staunch support for Palestinian nationalism. It grew to include Hezbollah in Lebanon, President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, Shi'ite Muslim armed groups in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen and the Palestinian militant group Hamas - extending Iran's influence to both the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its elite Quds Force lay at the heart of the axis. The IRGC answers to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and was set up soon after the revolution as an ideologically committed counterweight to the regular armed forces. The Quds Force operates as the IRGC's overseas wing, working closely with allies in the Axis of Resistance to train and arm them, and to provide direction and guidance in their military operations. Its tough, shrewd commander Major-General Qassem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone attack in Iraq in 2020 after decades spent knitting together groups across the region and Iran has struggled to replace him. When Hamas attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, it triggered massive military retaliation that has killed much of the group's top leadership including political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last summer. Hamas is still fighting in Gaza and retains a significant presence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but it does not presently boast a military force capable of posing a realistic threat to Israel. The war quickly spread as Iran's most important regional ally Hezbollah fired on Israel from Lebanon in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, leading to months of cross-border fire between the group and Israel. That conflict suddenly escalated in September 2024 when Israel detonated thousands of booby-trapped pagers used by Hezbollah operatives, killing and maiming hundreds of them. Over the following weeks a string of Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah's top leadership including overall chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, dealing the group a stunning blow and revealing how far it had been infiltrated. Hezbollah accepted a ceasefire with Israel in November and remains far from the powerful organisation that once threatened Israeli security. Syria's Assad was ousted soon afterwards. Israel had targeted top Iranian commanders in Syria with airstrikes over the summer, causing a partial IRGC pullout. Without Iranian and Hezbollah support, and ally Russia bogged down with war in Ukraine, Assad's army crumbled when rebels mounted an offensive in late November and he fled in December. With Hamas and Hezbollah greatly weakened, Iran can still turn to the Shi'ite militias it supports in Iraq and to the Houthis in Yemen. Iraq has a constellation of Iran-aligned armed groups but just a handful count among the most loyal and powerful to Tehran, including Kataib Hezbollah and the Nujaba group. These groups receive arms and directives from Iran and have pledged allegiance to Iran's supreme leader but retain a degree of autonomy on their operations inside Iraq. They have all but ceased attacks targeting U.S. forces and Israel since last year. Analysts question how far they would go to protect Iran if an attack was aimed at its nuclear sites rather than as part of an effort to topple the Islamic Republic given that would pose an existential threat to their main source of support. The Houthis have continued to fire missiles at Israel, but their ability to pose a significant threat from their distant base in Yemen is in doubt. Their attacks on Red Sea shipping have cooled since striking a deal with the U.S. after weeks of bombings in the spring.
Boston Globe
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Hezbollah stages show of strength at funeral for assassinated leader
Advertisement The 'massive crowd in Lebanon is an expression of loyalty to the resistance,' Hezbollah's current leader, Naim Kassem, said in a video speech played in the stadium. 'The resistance endures and remains present, regardless of what you may think,' he added. 'Do not mistake our patience for weakness.' The funeral comes five months after Israel killed Nasrallah on Sept. 27, dropping 80 bombs over several minutes on his bunker just south of Beirut. In killing Nasrallah, Israel eliminated a leader who enjoyed near-mythical status among Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslims and led their resistance against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. His death was one of the seminal moments in the confrontation between Iran's proxies and Israel, from which Hezbollah has emerged significantly weakened. In the months that followed, Israeli forces battered the group, and its iron grip on Lebanon's politics came undone, with many Lebanese blaming Hezbollah for dragging the country into one of its deadliest and most destructive wars. Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a cease-fire in November that forced Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon and abandon its strongholds along the border with Israel. While Israel agreed to withdraw from Lebanon as part of that truce, Israeli forces have remained in parts of southern Lebanon past the deadline to do so. Advertisement Now, Lebanon is at an inflection point. After decades of consolidating power, Hezbollah entered the war as the country's most dominant political and military force. But it has become a shadow of its former self. There is gathering momentum among Hezbollah's political opponents within Lebanon to seize power back from the group for the first time in decades. The country's newly appointed president, Joseph Aoun, has pledged to disarm Hezbollah and return the monopoly on military power to the state. Last week, the newly appointed Lebanese Cabinet adopted a policy statement that further undermined Hezbollah, laying out that the state alone had the right to defend Lebanon's territory. It was the first policy statement since the country's civil war ended in 1990 that did not mention the Lebanese people's right to resist Israeli occupation — a line that had long helped legitimize Hezbollah's existence. Nasrallah's funeral reflected the power struggle playing out in Lebanon, with Hezbollah seizing on it as an opportunity to reassert itself as a political force. With throngs of supporters in the streets to show their loyalty to Nasrallah, Hezbollah sought to send a message: Even though its leaders have been killed, its coffers drained, its Syrian ally, Bashar Assad, toppled, and its patron, Iran, weakened, the group is here to stay. 'The funeral is a launchpad,' said Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. 'They are trying to reinvent themselves' and use Nasrallah's death 'as a mobilizing tool to rally people around their cause, which has taken a great hit.' The funeral service also honored Hashem Safieddine, who effectively led Hezbollah for a week after Nasrallah's death before he, too, was killed by Israel. Advertisement Notably absent from the ceremony were Aoun and the newly appointed prime minister, Nawaf Salam. Both sent representatives in their place — a move that highlighted their efforts to distance themselves from Hezbollah as they push for financial support from the West. The service at the stadium was followed by an hourslong procession, as the throngs of supporters followed Nasrallah's coffin to a dedicated burial site nearby. The site will serve as a shrine for the slain leader, Hezbollah officials said. Israel projected its own show of force Sunday, with Israeli fighter jets roaring over Beirut and airstrikes hitting several areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, targeting what Israeli officials described as Hezbollah military activity. This article originally appeared in
