Hezbollah is a Shi'ite Muslim organization with a dual identity, being both a terrorist organization and a Lebanese political party. Hezbollah was founded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to compete with Amal, an important Shi'ite Muslim militia active during the Lebanese civil war. When the IDF withdrew from Lebanon at the end of the First Lebanon War (1985), Hezbollah became the dominant organization in south Lebanon and later throughout the entire Shi'ite population in Lebanon. In 1992 Hezbollah entered Lebanese politics and its representatives were elected to the parliament.
Hezbollah is the main terrorist organization attacking Israel from over the Lebanese border and abroad. For the most part Hezbollah attacks northern Israeli cities with rockets. However, with direction and backing from Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah also attacked Jewish and Israeli targets abroad, the most serious of which were the attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires (March 17, 1992) and the attack on the Jewish Community Center, also in Buenos Aires (July 18, 1994). Hezbollah has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
After the IDF withdrew from south Lebanon in May 2000 Hezbollah took control of the entire region. With Iranian support it constructed a vast military infrastructure, including an extensive rocket system which threatens the Israeli home front. Before the Second Lebanon War (2006) Hezbollah carried out sporadic attacks along the border. Since June 2006 it has maintained a relatively low profile. Hezbollah continues to increase its influence as a political power in Lebanon and to reinforce its military might.