Axis of Resistance

Axis of Resistance
Axis of Resistance
	Current and former components of the Axis of Resistance
Leaders	Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader of Iran); Naim Qassem (Secretary-General of Hezbollah); Falih Al-Fayyadh (Chairman of Popular Mobilization Committee); Abdul-Malik al-Houthi (Leader of the Houthis); Hamas temporary committee (Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau); Formerly Bashar al-Assad (President of Syria; 2000–2024);
Group(s)	Primary List
Active regions	Currently:; Iran; Iraq; Lebanon; northwestern Yemen; western Syria; Palestinian territories; Formerly; Syria
Ideology	Khomeinism; Shia Islamism; Anti-Zionism;
Political position	Big tent
Status	Active, unofficial military alliance
Allies	Cuba; North Korea; Venezuela; Non-state allies Syrian Democratic Forces (sometimes);
Opponents
Current
	Bahrain; Israel; Palestinian Authority; Jordan; Syria; United States; Yemen; Non-state opponents Islamic State; People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK); Syrian Democratic Forces (sometimes);
Battles and wars	Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Assadist–Saddamist conflict (until 1990); Iran–Iraq War; 2011 Bahraini uprising; Insurgency in Bahrain; Syrian civil war Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war; Spillover in Lebanon; 2024 Syrian opposition offensives; Western Syria clashes; Israeli invasion of Syria; ; Yemeni Civil War; ; Iran–Israel proxy conflict; Iraq War; War in Iraq (2013–2017); Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present) Gaza war; Israel–Hezbollah conflict; Red Sea crisis; 2024 Iran–Israel conflict Iran–Israel War June 2025 Israeli strikes on Iran; June 2025 Iranian strikes on Israel; ; ; West Bank Insurgency; ;

The Axis of Resistance is an informal coalition of Iranian-supported militant and political organizations across the Middle East. Formed by Iran, it unites actors committed to countering the influence of the United States and Israel in the region.

It most notably includes the Lebanese Hezbollah, Islamic Resistance in Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Yemeni Houthis. It sometimes includes Hamas, and a variety of other Palestinian militant groups. The various actions of members of this axis reflect their domestic interests while serving the broader goal of complicating Israel's attacks and imposing a cost on the United States to support Israel. The United States designates most of these groups as terrorist organizations. Despite this, between 2014 and 2017, militant groups within the axis under the command of Qasem Soleimani co-ordinated with U.S. military forces against the Islamic State (IS) organization during the war in Iraq (2013–2017).

Until the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, Ba'athist Syria was the only state member of the Axis beside Iran, hosting fighters trained and recruited by Iran. The coalition has also conducted attacks on US forces in Iraq. Through its Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran has provided extensive military and logistical support, with an estimated $700 million spent annually on these groups before sanctions affected its resources in 2019.

The conflicts engulfing the Middle East in 2023–2025, beginning with the October 7 attacks, have weakened the Axis of Resistance and the strategy behind it, according to an analysis by Associated Press. The network has suffered blows in the Gaza war and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Additionally, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's fall further disrupted the network. The Houthis and militias in Iraq remain intact as of December 2024.