International Relations GS 2 In the news 15 times

Iran's "Axis of Resistance"

Proxy Warfare Architecture

Iran has built an extensive network of allied non-state armed actors — collectively described as the "Axis of Resistance" — as a strategic hedge against its conventional military inferiority relative to the US and Israel. This doctrine of forward defence through proxies allows Iran to impose costs on adversaries without direct state-to-state military confrontation. The network includes:

Hezbollah (Lebanon): Iran's most capable proxy; armed with precision guided missiles and drones targeting Israel
Houthi/Ansar Allah (Yemen): controls significant territory; has targeted shipping in the Red Sea and Israeli territory with drones and ballistic missiles
Popular Mobilization Units (PMF) (Iraq): umbrella of Iran-aligned militias integrated into Iraq's official security forces since 2016
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Gaza): receive weapons and training, though Hamas's decision-making is not fully controlled by Tehran

Key details

The Resistance Axis represents Iran's response to its inability to project conventional military power across the region — it externalises conflict while maintaining plausible deniability.
Hezbollah's estimated arsenal pre-2026: 100,000–130,000 rockets and missiles; suffered significant attrition in 2024–2025 Israeli strikes.
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping (from late 2023) caused rerouting of global container shipping around Africa, sharply raising freight costs globally.
Iran's transfer of Shahed drones to Russia (used in Ukraine) demonstrated the Qods Force's reach beyond the Middle East.

In the news

● Tracked since February 19, 2026 · last seen May 20, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

20 May '26

IRGC Threatens to Spread War Beyond West Asia if Attacked Again