A major player in Middle East politics, Iran generally projects its power through a network of ideologically aligned allies and non-state groups — a network that styles itself the “Axis of Resistance”, Al Jazeera reports.

These groups include the Houthis of Yemen, Hamas of Palestine, Hezbollah of Lebanon, and Shia militia factions like Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, plus Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.

The actors fall on a spectrum ranging from hardcore IRGC loyalists and proxies, like the two Hezbollahs, to autonomous but often dependent partners and allies of Tehran, like Hamas, the Houthis, and the al-Assad regime.

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