By Matteo Piovacari

Outline

On the 9th of January 2020, top security, and intelligence commander Qassim Soleimani was killed by a drone strike in front of the Baghdad International Airport. Many regard him as the ‘mind’ behind the geopolitical expansion of the Iranian sphere of influence, which started after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Such a moment, in fact, can be pointed to as the beginning of an Iranian progressive posture as both a religious, social, and geopolitical leader of the Shia world.

From the dawn of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian leadership envisioned a strategy that could come in support of Iran’s expansionist cause without direct involvement on foreign soil. Such an ambitious objective was sought through the material support to Shia organized groups and militias, as proxies in foreign countries such as Lebanon and Yemen, as well as with the foundation of elite corps, the Quds Force, to handle such operations. Soleimani was certainly the most influential figure in the creation of this “axis of resistance”, contributing to the planning and deployment of economic and military resources (funds, common goods, weapons, artillery) to aid insurgent groups throughout the Middle East. The most critical operations, countries, and groups of interest are detailed below.

LEBANON

When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Shia militias surged to fight back. These circumstances led Iran to organize its first, grand operation on foreign soil. The Quds Forces funneled money, weapons, and intelligence onto these militia groups, which eventually transformed and combined into Hezbollah. These latter figures as the first Iranian proxy, capable of fighting directly against a territorial rival such as Israel.

IRAQ

As the US invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam's government, the Quds Force took advantage of the power vacuum to back Shia militias. Again, another strong proxy had been created outside of Iran’s soil. As the insurgency erupted in the country, Shia dominant groups took over power and influence, at the expense of the US military. A few years later, when ISIS started to pose a threat throughout the Middle East, these same groups and militias contributed to the fight, particularly to keep the terror group far from Iranian borders.

SYRIA

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2012, Soleimani and the Quds Force supported the regime in the fight against the revolutionary forces as a means to increase Iran's influence in Syria, exploiting the religious affinity with the government of Bashar al-Assad. By arming militias and sending millions of dollars to defend the Assad regime, Iran managed to leverage its sphere of influence even at its doorstep.

YEMEN

Since the very early stage of the Houthi insurgency in Yemen, dating back to 2011, Iran has supported, although in a less sustained way than elsewhere, the rebel group into its rise to power. It is noteworthy to mention the funneling of small arms and lethal weapons to the Houthis, with an intensification that occurred after the 2015 intervention of Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

PALESTINE

Dating in the 90s, Iran (through the Quds Force and Hezbollah) began funding and proving material as well as technical support to the fight of Hamas against the Israeli state. Thousands of rockets, pieces of artilleries, and weapons have been smuggled and provided to Hamas fighters through Iranian channels in the last 30 years.