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While Hezbollah is the most powerful and well-armed of Iran’s proxies – the so-called “axis of resistance” spreads far and wide.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and its elite Quds Force give out millions of dollars in funding to arm and train militia groups throughout the Middle East to assert power in the region.

The axis is a key part of Iran’s foreign policy, which aims to destabilise “rivals” such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.

All of which is why the world is waiting to see how Iran responds to Israel attacking Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Here, Sky News looks at the different forces in countries throughout the Middle East that are backed by Tehran.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah has been of particular concern for Israel in recent weeks, with the Israeli military beginning a ground operation on Tuesday.

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The group’s heavy presence in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, makes it of huge strategic importance to Tehran.

Last weekend, Hezbollah’s Shia political and military faction leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Israeli attacks in Beirut.

A passionate and fiery orator, Nasrallah was one of the most influential leaders within Iran’s “axis of resistance”. His death was seen as a big blow to all the groups involved.


Pic: West Asia News Agency / Reuters
Image:
The death of Hassan Nasrallah was seen as a big blow to the ‘axis’.
Pic: West Asia News Agency / Reuters

Hamas and Palestinian groups

Iran also provides funding to Hamas, with analysts believing the group’s use of drones to help overwhelm Israel’s famous Iron Dome defence system in the 7 October attack was proof of Iranian involvement.

However, Tehran temporarily withdrew funding from Hamas when it came out in support of anti-Assad protesters in Syria during the civil war.

Its smaller rival, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also receives funding from Iran, as does the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

Sky’s military analyst Professor Michael Clarke said in October last year these smaller groups are “not very well organised”.

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Syrian groups

Iran’s military, security and intelligence services have long assisted its allies in Syria to help prop up Bashar al Assad’s government there.

Strategically, as well as al Assad’s army, it has also backed several pro-government militia groups in case his regime falls.

Supported divisions include the Fatemiyoun Brigade, the Baqir Brigade, the Zainebiyoun Brigade, and Quwat al Ridha.

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Yemen and the Houthis

Iran uses the Houthi rebels, one of three groups fighting for power in Yemen, as a “proxy force” to put pressure on its two main rivals in the region, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Prof Clarke said last year the rebels are “prepared to make war on just about anybody” and suggested “it suits the Iranians to keep the Houthis going”.

A ballistic missile fired by the Houthis reached central Israel in September, with local officials saying parts of the missile fell on a train station and in an unpopulated “open area”.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

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It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

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Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I leftā€¦ got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

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He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

ā€œSpecialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,ā€ the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

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Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.

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