Bot at 19:37, 1 July 2023

2023-07-01T19:37:12Z

New page

{{Short description|Unofficial military coalition in the Middle East}}

{{Infobox organization
| map =
| map_size =
| type = Unofficial [[military alliance]]
| status = Active
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| leader_name2 =
| leader_name3 =
| leader_title3 =
| leader_title4 =
| leader_name4 =
| location = [[Syria]]
| name = Axis of Resistance
| named_after =
| map_caption =
| purpose = [[Anti-Zionism]]<br>Opposition to [[United States|American]], [[Israel]]i and [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] interests in the Middle East<br>Opposition to the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran|MEK]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://english.mojahedin.org/newsen/61627/Beware-Iran's-'Axis-of-Resistance'|title = Beware Iran's 'Axis of Resistance' | People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK)}}</ref>
| language = Arabic, Persian
| region = [[Middle East]]
| membership = '''Primary'''
{{Collapsible list
|bullets=yes
|title=
|{{IRN}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution.svg}} [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Quds Force.svg}} [[Quds Force]]
|{{SYR}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces.svg}} [[Syrian Armed Forces|SAF]]
*[[National Defence Force (Syria)|NDF]]
*[[Baqir Brigade]]
*{{flagicon image|PFLP-GC Flag.svg}} [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command|PFLP-GC]]
|{{LBN}}
*{{flagicon image|InfoboxHez.PNG}} [[Hezbollah]]
|{{IRQ}}
*{{flagicon image|Popular mobilization forces flag.png}} [[Popular Mobilization Forces|PMF]]
|{{YEM}}
*{{flag|Houthis}}
|{{PSE}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Hamas.svg}} [[Hamas]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.svg}} [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|PIJ]]
*{{flagicon image|}} [[Sabireen Movement]]
|{{AFG}}
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Taliban.svg}} [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]
}}
}}

{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width = 125
| footer = Flags of the members of the Axis of Resistance
| image1 = Flag of Iran.svg
| alt1 = Islamic Republic of Iran
| caption1 = [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]
| image2 = Flag of Syria.svg
| alt2 = Syrian Arab Republic
| caption2 = [[Syrian Arab Republic]]
| image3 =
| alt3 = Hezbollah
| caption3 = [[Hezbollah]]
| image4 = Popular mobilization forces flag.png
| alt4 = Popular Mobilization Forces
| caption4 = [[Popular Mobilization Forces]]
| image5= Ansarullah Flag Vector.svg
| alt5=Houthis
| caption5= [[Houthis|Houthi movement]] (Ansar Allah)
}}
The term '''''Axis of Resistance''''' ({{lang-fa|محور مقاومت|translit=mehvar–e moqâvemat}}, {{Lang-ar|محور المقاومة|translit=miḥwar al-muqāwamah}}) refers to an [[Anti-Western sentiment|Anti-Western]]/anti-Israeli/anti-Saudi [[political alliance|political]] and informal [[military alliance]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9459321/Syria-Iran-vows-it-will-not-allow-Assad-to-fall.html|title=Syria: Iran vows it will not allow Assad to fall|date=12 July 2012|access-date=8 August 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> between [[Iran]], the [[Syria]]n [[National Progressive Front (Syria)|Assad government]] and the [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] [[militant]] group [[Hezbollah]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-idINL6E8J6E9Q20120807/|title=Iran backs Assad as Syrian forces choke off Aleppo|date=7 August 2012|access-date=7 August 2012|work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/07/world/meast/syria-unrest/|title=Iran: Syria part of 'axis of resistance'|date=7 August 2012|access-date=7 August 2012|work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{citation|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Lebanon/97%20Drums%20of%20War%20-%20Israel%20and%20the%20Axis%20of%20Resistance.pdf|title=Drums Of War: Israel And The "AXIS OF RESISTANCE"|publisher=International Crisis Group|date=2 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111425/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Lebanon/97%20Drums%20of%20War%20-%20Israel%20and%20the%20Axis%20of%20Resistance.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref> [[National Defence Forces (Syria)|Pro-Syrian government militias]], Iraqi [[Shia]] militias that are part of the Iraqi Government-sanctioned [[Popular Mobilization Forces]] and the [[Yemen]]i [[Houthis|Houthi movement]] (officially: "Ansar Allah") are also considered part of the alliance. Despite the alliance's differing ideologies, for example secular [[Ba'athism]], [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalism]] and [[Shia]] [[Islamism]], they work together to oppose [[NATO]], [[Israel]]i and [[Saudi Arabia]]n activities in the region.<ref name="marisa">{{citation|last=Sullivan|first=Marisa|url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Hezbollah_Sullivan_FINAL.pdf|title=Hezbollah in Syria|publisher=Institute for the Study of War|date=April 2014}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Bashar al-Assad (2018-05-17) 03.jpg|thumb|[[Bashar al-Assad]]]]
The term was used by the Libyan daily newspaper ''Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar'' in response to American president [[George W. Bush]]'s claim that [[Iran]], [[Iraq]] and [[North Korea]] formed an "[[axis of evil]]." In an article titled ''"Axis of evil or axis of resistance"'', the paper wrote in 2002 that "the only common denominator among Iran, Iraq and North Korea is their resistance to US hegemony."<ref name=def&foraffairs>{{cite news|title=Collapse of US-Libyan Talks Highlighted by Revived Anti-US Rhetoric from Tripoli|date=February 12, 2002|publisher=Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily}}</ref> The Iranian newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami subsequently adopted the language in reference to the [[Iraq spring fighting of 2004|Shia insurgency in Iraq]], writing in 2004 that "if the line of Iraq's [[Shia|Shi'is]] needs to be linked, united and consolidated, this unity should be realized on the axis of resistance and struggle against the occupiers."<ref name=jomhuri>{{cite news|title=BBC Monitoring quotes from Iranian press 18 May 04|publisher=BBC|date=May 18, 2004}}</ref>

In 2006, the Palestinian minister of the interior, Said Saim, used the term during an interview an [[Al-Alam News Network|Al-Alam television]] to refer to common political goals among Arabs in opposition to those of Israel or the United States. Noting the large number of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Saim stated, "Syria is also an Islamic Arab country and is also targeted by the Americans and the Zionists. Hence we see in Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas an axis of resistance in front of these pressures."<ref name=fednews>{{cite news|title=Interview with Said Saim, Palestinian Minister of the Interior, discussing the security chaos in the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian national dialogue and relations with other Arab countries|publisher=Federal News Service|date=May 29, 2006}}</ref>

The term "axis of resistance" was used as early as August 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6710OF/|title=Calm on Israel-Lebanon front belied by talk of war|date=2 August 2010|access-date=7 August 2012|work=Reuters}}</ref> After two years, [[Ali Akbar Velayati]], senior advisor for foreign affairs to Iran's supreme leader, used the term and said:

{{blockquote|The chain of resistance against Israel by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, the new Iraqi government, and Hamas passes through the Syrian highway… Syria is the golden ring of the chain of resistance against Israel.<ref name="Goodarzi">{{cite journal|last=Goodarzi|first=Jubin|journal=Viewpoints|title=Iran and Syria at the Crossroads: The Fall of the Tehran-Damascus Axis?|url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/iran_syria_crossroads_fall_tehran_damascus_axis.pdf|date=August 2013|publisher=Wilson Center}}</ref>}}

The phrase was used again in August 2012 during a meeting between Syrian president [[Bashar al-Assad]] and the secretary of Iran's [[Supreme National Security Council]], [[Saeed Jalili]], regarding the [[Syrian Civil War]].<ref name="cbs">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57488169/iran-were-in-axis-of-resistance-with-syria/|title=Iran: We're in 'axis of resistance' with Syria|date=7 August 2012|access-date=7 August 2012|work=CBS News}}</ref> He said:

{{blockquote|What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue, but a conflict between the axis of resistance and its enemies in the region and the world. Iran will not tolerate, in any form, the breaking of the axis of resistance, of which Syria is an intrinsic part.<ref name="Goodarzi"/>}}


The Syrian state-run news agency, [[Syrian Arab News Agency|SANA]], has stated that the two governments discussed their "strategic cooperation relationship" and "attempts by some Western countries and their allies to strike at the axis of resistance by targeting Syria and supporting terrorism there."<ref name="cbs"/>

The alliance has been described as an "Axis of Terror" by the prime minister and ambassadors of Israel.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8385847/50-tons-of-weapons-seized-by-Israel.html 50 tons of weapons seized by Israel], Telegraph, 16 March 2011</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5178492.stm Israel pursues strikes on Lebanon], BBC, 14 July 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Gillerman-fingers-axis-of-terror GILLERMAN FINGERS 'AXIS OF TERROR'], JPost, 22 Feb 2006</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Sayyid Nasrallah.jpg|thumb|[[Hezbollah]] leader [[Hassan Nasrallah]]]]
At first, the alliance consisted of the Syrian government and Lebanese Hezbollah. Years later Iran, already closely aligned with Syria and Hezbollah, would form stronger relations between the three, creating the axis. Iraqi and Yemeni militants coordinating with Iran came in as the newest members of this alliance.<ref name="marisa"/> After the beginning of [[Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War]], a slew of posters showing images of Nasrallah, Assad, [[Khamenei]], and Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], have appeared with an Arabic caption meaning "Men who bow to no one but God." The posters suggest another emerging regional Axis of Resistance, according to ''[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schenker|first1=David|title=Putin and the Shiite 'Axis of Resistance'|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/defense/256164-putin-and-the-shiite-axis-of-resistance|access-date=25 May 2016|work=TheHill|date=7 October 2015}}</ref>

==Analysis==
The axis has "reshaped the strategic balance in the Middle East"<ref>{{cite web|title=Challenging the Axis of Resistance: Syria, Iran and the Strategic Balance in the Middle East|url=http://www.usip.org/events/challenging-the-axis-resistance-syria-iran-and-the-strategic-balance-in-the-middle-east|website=USIP|access-date=25 May 2016}}</ref> and according to Marisa Sullivan, it has two main pillars; shared regional objectives and shared support.<ref name="marisa"/>
The current ruling minority of Syria is primarily made up of [[Alawites]], who are a sect of [[Shia Islam]], which is also the [[Religion in Iran|majority religion]] of Iran.<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4283331 The Alawi capture of power in Syria], Middle Eastern Studies, 1989</ref> This common background has made them strategic allies on various issues, including defense.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8809181618/|title=Syrian DM Stresses Tehran-Damascus Joint Confrontation against Attacks|date=9 December 2009|access-date=7 August 2012|work=Fars News Agency}}{{dead link|date=October 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Palestinian Arabs|Palestinian]] [[Islamism|Islamist]] movement [[Hamas]] has also at times been considered part of the axis due to its opposition to Israel and the United States. However, as of March 2012, the group has since pulled its headquarters out of Damascus and thrown its support behind the anti-Assad [[Syrian opposition]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0316/Syria-crisis-causes-Iran-led-axis-of-resistance-to-fray/|title=Syria crisis causes Iran-led 'axis of resistance' to fray|date=16 March 2012|access-date=8 August 2012|work=CS Monitor}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/03/03/198264.html|title=Hamas rattles the Resistance Axis|date=3 March 2012|access-date=8 August 2012|work=Al Alarabiya News}}</ref>

===Iran–Syria===
{{Main|Iran–Syria relations}}
According to Jubin Goodarzi, an assistant professor and researcher at [[Webster University]], the Iranian–Syrian alliance that was formed in 1979 is of great importance to the emergence and continuity of the axis of resistance. Both countries are in key locations of the Middle East, and they have been affecting Middle Eastern politics during the past three decades. Also, the alliance is considered to be an enduring one, lasting 34 years "in spite of the many challenges that it has faced and periodic strains in the relationship".<ref name="Goodarzi" />

===Axis of resistance vs. Israel===
{{Main|Iran–Israel proxy conflict}}
The axis claims to be against Israel in order to shore up popular support across the Islamic world, according to Tallha Abdulrazaq writing in the [[Middle East Monitor]], and it took a severe blow after [[January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident|Israeli Mazraat Amal air strike]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Abdulrazaq |first=Tallha|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20150128-the-axis-of-resistance-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up/|title=The Axis of Resistance: Time to put up, or shut up|publisher=Middle East Monitor|date=28 January 2015}}</ref> Three days before that airstrike against Hizbollah convoy, Hizbollah leader, [[Hassan Nasrallah]] said: "...we consider that any strike against Syria is a strike against the whole of the resistance axis, not just against Syria."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/hezbollah-pulled-between-resistance-to-israel-and-defense-of-syria|title=Hezbollah: pulled between resistance to Israel and defense of Syria|last=Levitt|first=Matthew|date=2015|journal=CTC Sentinel|pages=5}}</ref>

===Axis of resistance vs. ISIL===
{{Main|International military intervention against ISIL}}
Hezbollah rejects the idea of Lebanon helping in the [[American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)|U.S.-led intervention in Iraq]] arguing that it may lead to the U.S domination in the region or "substituting terrorism with flagrant US occupation".<ref>{{cite news|last=Qanso|first=Wafiq|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/21592|title=Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, and Russia vs. the US-led anti-ISIS alliance: Cooperation or confrontation?|date=18 September 2014}}</ref>

===Taliban - Iran relations===
{{Main|Afghanistan-Iran relations}}
[[Ali Akbar Velayati]], an advisor to [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] [[Ali Khamenei]], described the Taliban's [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] as part of the Axis of Resistance, with Iran at its core, a coalition of nations seeking “resistance, independence, and freedom.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regional Powers Seek To Fill Vacuum Left By West's Retreat From Afghanistan |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-power-vacuum-russia-iran-china-pakistan/31624955.html |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}}</ref>

The prominent [[Iranian Principlists|Principalist]] daily publication in Iran, [[Kayhan]], has also begun referring to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as a member of the Axis of Resistance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran and the Taliban after the US fiasco in Afghanistan |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-and-taliban-after-us-fiasco-afghanistan |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=kayhan.ir |date=August 25, 2021 |title=اقتصاد مقاومت(یادداشت روز) |url=https://kayhan.ir/fa/news/224438 |access-date=2022-04-13 |website=fa |language=fa}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Arab–Israeli alliance against Iran]]
* [[Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition]], another military alliance that involves Iran and Syria
* [[Shia crescent]]
* [[Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war]]
* [[Iran–Israel proxy conflict]]
* [[Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war]]
* [[Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Iran–Saudi Arabia relations}}
{{Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict}}
{{Iran–Israel proxy conflict}}

[[Category:Axis of Resistance]]
[[Category:Shia Islam and politics]]
[[Category:Anti-Zionism in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Anti-Western sentiment]]
[[Category:Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of Iran]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of Syria]]
[[Category:Iran–Iraq relations]]
[[Category:Iran–Syria relations]]
[[Category:Iran–Syria military relations]]
[[Category:Iran–Yemen relations]]
[[Category:Iran–Israel proxy conflict]]
[[Category:Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict]]
[[Category:Military alliances involving Iran]]
[[Category:Military alliances involving Iraq]]
[[Category:Military alliances involving Syria]]
[[Category:Military alliances involving Yemen]]
[[Category:Hamas]]
[[Category:Hezbollah]]
[[Category:Houthis]]
[[Category:Popular Mobilization Forces]]

Axis of Resistance - Revision history

Bot at 19:37, 1 July 2023