Enduring aggression: Iran's proxy militias' relentless offensive
The latest group to claim to attack Israel is in Iraq, however it is unclear if these "attacks" go beyond mere claims and whether Iran is putting out propaganda to keep up the pressure on Israel.
Iran’s proxy groups in the region continue to claim they are carrying out attacks on Israel. The claims come amid ongoing talks of a ceasefire. This is important because it reveals how Iran seeks to use the lead-up to any kind of agreement to solidify its advantage in the region.
Iran has exponentially increased the role of its proxies in recent years, expanding them in Iraq and Syria and aiding the Houthis to increase the range of their drones and missiles.
After the Hamas attack on October 7, Iran pushed each militia to begin attacks in a slowly increasing set of strikes from multiple fronts. This includes Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria.
Some attacks do not reach Israel
Most recently, pro-Iran media said that an Iranian-backed terrorist group in Bahrain had also carried out two attacks. Most of these attacks consist of “claims,” not necessarily evidence they ever reached Israel. This is because the long-range low-tech drones being used by these groups are notoriously ineffective and prone to breakdowns along the flight path.
Nevertheless, the latest claim was on May 5, when “according to the Al-Mayadeen news network, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq announced Sunday that it had launched a cruise missile at the Haifa Port.”
The report said that “the cruise missile, the Arqab, was launched from Iraqi soil toward the occupied Palestinian territories. The Iraqi resistance said that the operation was carried out to support the Palestinian cause amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.”
The claim that an Iraqi group has continued its attacks on Israel appears to be designed to show that every day, Iran can claim one of its many proxies is continuing to threaten Israel from a different front. The operationalization of a group in Bahrain was designed to do that.
However, it is unclear if these groups are actually able to strike at Israel or if they are merely being told to make claims so that it seems Iran is continuing its full-court press on Israel.
Clearly, Iranian media, such as IRNA in Iraq, and pro-Iran media, such as Al-Mayadeen, seek to highlight a number of attacks daily. Some of these are real, such as the Hezbollah threats, but others appear more to be propaganda than actual incidents.
That doesn’t mean the threats from Iran’s militias in Iraq or Syria are not emerging, growing threats. They are threats, and they must be taken seriously. However, it’s important to understand the context of this Iranian pressure campaign on Israel in which it has inflamed a number of fronts or "arenas” against Israel.
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