Keeping Iran’s Proxies on Their Back Feet

Israel has inflicted major blows against Iran’s assorted proxies over the past several years, with Hamas and Hezbollah suffering particularly serious setbacks. Tehran, for its part, has made clear that rearming and rebuilding its so-called “Resistance Front” remains a high priority for the regime. Accomplishing this feat is far more difficult than it was in the past, and yet, Iran is finding ways to circumvent these potential roadblocks. U.S. officials report that Iran provided Hezbollah some $1 billion over the first ten months of 2025, and continues to provide significant funding to Hamas as well. Iran is also still finding ways to send weapons to Hezbollah and the Houthis, some of which (though certainly not all) have been seized or interdicted. Moreover, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis all have their own independent fundraising, procurement and logistical networks around the world which can fill some of the gaps. Iran’s proxy network, in other words, may be down, but it isn’t out. While the outcome of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran and the separate Israeli assault on Hezbollah is far from clear, we should not assume that these threats will be behind us when the conflict concludes... 

Read the full article on the Statecraft & Strategy website.