If the West wants to understand Iran, it must begin with a simple but uncomfortable truth: Iran does not see its proxies as separate entities. It sees them as extensions of Iran itself—armed, funded, trained, and ideologically fused to the Islamic Republic. Attack a proxy, and in Iran’s eyes, you have attacked Iran and, by extension, its divine destiny. This is not a metaphor. It is Iran’s fundamental doctrine.
Western analysts routinely miss this. They treat Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, and an entire constellation of Iraqi and Syrian militias as independent actors with local agendas. Iran does not. Iran sees its roughly 20–30 proxy and partner militias as the instruments through which it intends to shape—and ultimately dominate—the regional order.
These groups operate not only across the Middle East, but in Asia, Africa, Europe, and even North America, where Iranian operatives and proxy-linked networks have carried out surveillance and assassination plots for decades. We tend to gloss over this reality because it reflects a level of dedication and strategic patience that American political leaders have often lacked, creating an immense blind spot
Consider Hezbollah. Its centrality to Iran’s strategy is not subtle. Hezbollah attacks Israel, Israel retaliates, and Iran uses the resulting crisis to extract concessions or shift diplomatic pressure.
Many Americans fail to appreciate that Hezbollah attacks have disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in the North for years. Meanwhile, the Lebanese people—a majority of whom do not want Hezbollah exercising such influence in their country—are trapped.
What matters, though, at least to Iran, is that to challenge Hezbollah is, in effect, to challenge Iran itself. That is the point that must be understood if we are to prevail, hopefully through negotiation, but if necessary, through war.
Western analysts routinely miss this. They treat Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, and an entire constellation of Iraqi and Syrian militias as independent actors with local agendas. Iran does not. Iran sees its roughly 20–30 proxy and partner militias as the instruments through which it intends to shape—and ultimately dominate—the regional order.
These groups operate not only across the Middle East, but in Asia, Africa, Europe, and even North America, where Iranian operatives and proxy-linked networks have carried out surveillance and assassination plots for decades. We tend to gloss over this reality because it reflects a level of dedication and strategic patience that American political leaders have often lacked, creating an immense blind spot
Consider Hezbollah. Its centrality to Iran’s strategy is not subtle. Hezbollah attacks Israel, Israel retaliates, and Iran uses the resulting crisis to extract concessions or shift diplomatic pressure.
Many Americans fail to appreciate that Hezbollah attacks have disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in the North for years. Meanwhile, the Lebanese people—a majority of whom do not want Hezbollah exercising such influence in their country—are trapped.
What matters, though, at least to Iran, is that to challenge Hezbollah is, in effect, to challenge Iran itself. That is the point that must be understood if we are to prevail, hopefully through negotiation, but if necessary, through war.
