World


Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis The blood-soaked tentacles of Iran’s terror triumvirate.


I BY SAMUEL M. KATZ


ran has yearned for a spot at the superpower table for decades. Even though Western sanc- tions have crippled its economy


and limited the potential of its oil rev- enues, Tehran has invested enormous resources in a three-pronged strategy to promote its adventures abroad, with an emphasis on long-range bal- listic missiles, special operations forc- es, and off ensive drones to intimidate neighbors and regional rivals. HAMAS. It’s no coincidence that


its Oct. 7 attack against Israel trans- pired when talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s two main rivals in the region, were close to a diplomatic breakthrough — one that would have signifi cantly marginalized Tehran’s reach across the Middle East. According to The Wall Street Jour-


nal, Iran played an integral role in pre- paring Hamas terrorists for the attack. For 30 years, its suicide bombers


have wreaked havoc on Israel, blow- ing up buses, cafés, shopping malls, and hotels. Between 1994 and 2008, over 1,500


Israelis were killed. Iran spent hundreds of millions of


dollars on the carnage, money that Tehran thought was well spent; State Department reports list Iran sending as much as $100 million a year to Hamas. When Hamas took control of the


Gaza Strip, home to over 2 million Pal- estinians, in a bloody coup against the Palestinian Authority in 2007, Iran


50 NEWSMAX | FEBRUARY 2024


took ownership of a forward-operating base for a protracted war of attrition against Israel. Iranian knowledge and Hamas-


diverted cash from Qatar resulted in what became known as the Gaza metro, over 500 miles of heavily for- tifi ed tunnels to warehouse rockets, explosives, weapons, and ammuni- tion, as well as the Hamas leadership during confl ict with Israel. HEZBOLLAH. Funded wholly by


Iran and a massive drug-smuggling enterprise, it consists of over 100,000 well-equipped and battled-tested men — making it larger than the Lebanese Armed Forces and one of the most powerful military forces in the Arab world. A council of senior Hezbollah lead-


ers directs all military operations — against Israel, against enemies of Iran, and even overseas against Western targets. According to the Alma Research


and Education Center, an indepen- dent nonprofi t that specializes in Isra- el’s security challenges on its northern border, Hezbollah has been built to resemble a conventional army with regional units, air defense, engineer- ing, rocket, and naval units. It has a force responsible for its


arsenal of 150,000 rockets and bal- listic missiles. Another unit handles drones and electronic warfare. Hezbollah’s seven “secretive forc-


es” are the links that connect all of Tehran’s regional proxy armies into a global force.


Unit 133, for example, is responsi-


ble for carrying out liaison operations with Palestinian terror groups, espe- cially Hamas; Unit 3800 handles the training of Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq for operations against American forces, as well as training the Houthis in Yemen. Unit 121, also known as the death


squad, carries out assassination and terrorist attacks around the world on behalf of Iranian intelligence. HOUTHIS. They emerged as a domi-


nant military power in Yemen — one among many religious and political militias — following the Arab Spring after the government initiated eco- nomic programs viewed as discrimi- natory to the Shiite population. Fighting broke out in Sana’a,


Yemen’s capital, and quickly spread to the mountains and toward the areas to the east along the Persian Gulf waters, including the port of Aden. Saudi Arabia, determined to restore


the internationally recognized govern- ment, intervened militarily; so, too, did forces from the United Arab Emirates. The Iranian government found stra-


tegic use for the Houthis to engage the Sunni Gulf states in a protracted guer- rilla war. Tehran supplied the Houthis with weapons, cash, and expertise. They also provided the Houthis with long-range missiles. Shortly after the Oct. 7 attack, the


Houthis began an intermittent ballis- tic missile and drone assault on U.S. naval assets and merchant ships in the Red Sea.


©REUTERS


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