For years, the Islamic Republic worked to build up a network of allies throughout the Middle East, widely known as the “axis of resistance,” which, in the event Iran itself were attacked, could rain down destruction on Israel, the US military, and American allies in the region. Even after Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard commander viewed by many as the architect of the axis of resistance strategy, was killed in a US drone strike in 2019 along with the leader of one of the most powerful Iraqi militias, many experts believed the axis would remain a potent threat. While the Israeli war effort initially was concentrated in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet viewed the attack as fundamentally tied to the larger threat of Iran’s “axis of resistance.” The next phase of the war began to target them more directly.
Author: Joshua Keating
Published at: 2026-03-04 22:52:19
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