Iran, Hezbollah, and allies amplify threats following Beirut strike - analysis

Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian proxies around the region have increased threats to Israel after the pager explosions on September 17 and 18 and the Beirut airstrike on September 20. The threats began with Hezbollah claiming on September 17 that it would retaliate against Israel in a way that Israel could not “imagine.” Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah also said on September 19 that the Iranian-backed group would retaliate for the deaths it suffered in the pager and walkie-talkies explosions.

On September 20, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami sent a message to Nasrallah, claiming Israel would face “a crushing response from the axis of resistance.” The “resistance” refers to groups such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and groups in Iraq and Syria.

“The terrorist crime of the occupying regime resulted in the martyrdom and mass injury of beloved Lebanese nationals and Hezbollah fighters,” the Iranian commander said. “I declare that such terrorist acts, which are undoubtedly due to the desperation and successive failures of the Zionist regime, will soon be met with a crushing response from the resistance front. We will witness the complete destruction of this cruel and criminal regime,” he wrote.

Onslaught of attack methods

In addition, on September 20, the head of Iraq’s Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), Abu Alaa al-Walae, “expressed the readiness of battalions to fight alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon against the Israeli regime,” Iran’s IRNA wrote. “In a message to the secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday... Walae said that the KSS is ready to join Hezbollah in Lebanon to fight against the Zionist regime,” the report noted.

Iraqi militias have vowed since 2017 that they would send fighters to Lebanon to support Hezbollah against Israel. In addition, they have targeted the Jewish state with drone attacks over the last eleven months. On October 18, a drone launched from Iraq flew toward Israel, which the Israeli Air Force shot down. The Iraqi militia leader “further noted that the Iraqi resistance is prepared to join Hezbollah under the leadership of Nasrallah with its weapons, lives, and property,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Jihad also vowed to back Hezbollah. PIJ is active in Gaza and the West Bank and also has officials in Damascus. It frequently meets with Hezbollah in Lebanon. PIJ says it will aid Hezbollah in “various arenas.” This is how Iran describes the multi-front war against Israel.

“In a statement released late on Thursday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement emphasized that Nasrallah’s remarks indicate the failure of plans aimed at the resistance in Gaza,” IRNA reported. Hamas also said it continued to thank Hezbollah for its support over the last eleven months. Hezbollah began its attacks on Israel after the Hamas massacre of October 7.