Iran's Axis of Resistance

The U.S.-led regional security order, aimed to deepen Western influence in the Middle East, has encountered significant resistance since the Iranian revolution. Various Western powers have established distinct zones of influence, leading to a division that has weakened the Islamic world (Mohseni, p. 33). The Iranian revolution in 1979 transformed alliances and created new geostrategic dynamics and regional security challenges. Iran's opposition to the U.S. and its deterrence policies against perceived enemies have directly challenged the established security order. This resistance has also contributed to the strengthening of transnational Shi’a politics. Iran employs both conventional and asymmetric deterrence strategies, which include support for other states and non-state actors. These strategies have reinforced the Axis of Resistance against the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.

Since the Iranian Revolution, Shia communities throughout the broader Middle East have been affected by Iranian foreign policies in various ways (Ahmadian et al., p. 2). For three decades, the United States has attempted to contain Iran through a range of sanctions. The Iranian leadership has played a crucial role in promoting and asserting Iranian interests on both regional and global levels. Iran's strategy against the US-led security order in the Middle East aims to counter US policies. This strategy manifests in countries like Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq, where Iran supports pro-Iranian organizations and networks (Milani et al., p. 6).

Before the Arab Spring, the Axis of Resistance primarily consisted of state partnerships, including Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, alongside groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. These countries had centralized authorities and the necessary prerequisites for statehood. They sought to establish an independent regional order while resisting both Israel and U.S. imperialism. 

However, with the onset of the Arab Spring and the subsequent failure of the U.S. modern nation-state project in the region, power shifted to various non-state actors and militias that emerged to fill the political vacuum. The Shia actors in this landscape faced traditional adversaries, including the West, as well as Sunni extremist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Key Shia actors include the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Syrian National Defense Forces (SND). Additionally, there are foreign groups such as the Afghan Fatemiyoun and the Pakistani Zaynabiyoun brigades, which operate in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq (Mohseni et al. p-02).

Iran is implementing a counter-containment strategy aimed at undermining American efforts to isolate and weaken the country. In an effort to expand its influence, Iran has formed alliances with various actors in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Currently, the Axis of Resistance bloc operates throughout the greater Middle East, with Iran at its center. The country wields significant influence over the politics, economy, and society of its allied nations and groups. This dynamic affects regional politics in the Middle East and also has spillover effects on international relations.

Today, Iran’s transnational influence over various groups is widely recognized. The Basij, Iran's paramilitary force, is shaping its influence on Shia resistance groups. Factors such as the rise of ISIS, regional insecurity, a commitment to following clerical authority, and authoritative fatwas have further united these groups and brought them closer together strategically (Mohseni et al., p. 03).

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014 have brought the bloc closer together on various fronts. Factors such as geo-strategic influence, geopolitical power dynamics, military enhancement, and the growing dependence of Middle Eastern countries on Iran have, on one hand, strengthened Iran's regional influence and, on the other hand, contributed to the spread of the Shiite revolution (Mohseni et al. 01). The Iranian Revolution radically transformed the political landscape of the Middle East and had a significant impact on regional relations and the internal developments of neighboring countries (Jabar, p. 225).

The Axis of Resistance has become more evident in Iraq. Following the Iran-Iraq war from the 1980s to the 1990s, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shifted its focus to exporting revolutionary values beyond Iran's borders. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 prompted the IRGC to redirect resources from its efforts against Saddam Hussein to support Lebanon. This situation reinvigorated the IRGC's commitment to exporting revolution, even as significant obstacles had been placed in its way by powerful global forces (Ostovar, pp. 7-9).

The immediate effects of the revolution were felt in Iraq. Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and the Dawa Party aimed to extend the revolution into Iraq but were unsuccessful. The ruthless state apparatus of Saddam Hussein's regime brutally suppressed these groups. In 1982, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) was established, committing itself to spreading Khomeinism in Iraq. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with the support of SCIRI, organized an armed wing known as the Badr Corps. This military wing proved to be significant after the fall of Saddam Hussein, as this group gradually became influential power brokers in the new Iraqi state (Ostovar, p. 09).

In Lebanon, for example, the Axis bloc successfully resisted Israel during its invasion in 2006. The Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, along with American support for Israel, fostered a rejection of Westernized modernist values among the Shia community. As a result, the founders of Hizbullah began to seek an alternative. The most appealing option available to them was Khomeini’s theory of wilayat al-faqih, which advocates for a structure based on an Islamic state (Jurdi et al., p. 126). 

Hizbullah’s commitment to wilayat al-faqih persists to this day. For Hizbullah, Iranian Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei serves as the de facto representative of the hidden Imam. Like Iran, Hizbullah holds the belief that all Muslims belong to the Ummah. Its ideological foundations are rooted in the concept of wilayat al-faqih, positioning it as a central authority within the Ummah, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards acting as the leaders of this Islamic entity. The connection between wilayat al-faqih, the Iranian state, and the Islamic Revolution reinforces the relationship between Iran and Hizbullah (Jurdi, 138).

Iran's balance of power strategy has been effective in opposing both Western powers and its Middle Eastern rivals. The principles of Wilayat-al-Faqih and the resistance to Western interests have enabled Iran to achieve its strategic goals in the region and beyond.