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Iranian Activity in East Africa: A Growing Threat to Israeli and Western Interests

For years Iran has been working to advance diplomatic, economic and military objectives in East Africa as part of a strategy to position itself as a regional power, use the region to expand its geo-strategic influence and turn East Africa into a logistical backyard serving its efforts to build its network of terrorist proxy organizations; In recent years Iran renewed its relations with Djibouti and Sudan and tightened its ties with Ethiopia. That enabled Iran to expand its regional presence with the export of advanced weapons to conflict zones in East Africa, especially the civil war in Sudan; The ongoing relations between Iran and al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated Somalian terrorist organization, have made them middlemen in Iran's chain of proxies: The Houthis transfer Iranian weapons to al-Shabaab in the Horn of Africa, and al-Shabaab allows Tehran to use the ports under its control to smuggle weapons to the Houthis; In ITIC assessment, Iran's expanding presence in East Africa is a growing threat to Israeli interests because of Iran's ability to use the smuggling routes for weapons from Sudan to the Gaza Strip. Iran may also use the weapons it sends to conflict zones in East Africa and its official missions there to promote terrorist plots against Israeli targets in Africa. In addition, the threat to vital American and Western interests is increased by giving Iran the ability to attack shipping lanes in the Red Sea and through its dangerous proximity to the main American base in Djibouti.
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Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (December 3-10, 2025)

The speaker of the Iranian Majles accused Israel of “systematic genocide” of the Palestinians and stressed his country’s opposition to any attempt to impose a political solution on the Palestinians; The Iranian media reported extensively on the death of Yasser Abu Shabab, head of the Popular Forces militia in Rafah, and stressed that it was proof of the failure of Israeli policy in the Gaza Strip; The Iranian foreign minister invited his Lebanese counterpart to visit Tehran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected the Lebanese foreign minister’s claim regarding Iranian interference in his country’s internal affairs; The Iraqi prime minister ordered an investigation after the Terrorist Funds Freezing Committee included Hezbollah and the Houthis on the list of terrorist organizations. The committee chairman claimed that this was a “mistake”.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (December 1-8, 2025)

The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon to enforce the ceasefire agreement, which prohibited the organization's presence south of the Litani. The IDF reported that in the year since the ceasefire, more than 370 terrorist operatives, most of them from Hezbollah, had been eliminated and there had been approximately 1,200 targeted ground operations to destroy terrorist infrastructure and damage the organization's military capabilities; The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon, however "enforcement" actions to implement the November 2024 ceasefire agreement occurred less frequently; Hezbollah's secretary general, Na'im Qassem, demanded that the United States and Israel stop interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs, including the rebuilding of the organization's military capabilities. He said Hezbollah would continue to "defend" itself in view of the intention to eliminate its existence; The Lebanese leadership reiterated calls to the international community to exert pressure on Israel to halt its attacks in Lebanon and to complete its withdrawal from the positions it holds in south Lebanon. Prime Minister Salam accused Israel of waging a war of attrition against Lebanon; For the first time, Lebanon's President Aoun appointed a civilian representative to head the delegation to the ceasefire monitoring committee, arguing the need to prioritize the language of negotiations over the language of war. Prime Minister Salam said it was still too early to discuss economic cooperation with Israel. Hezbollah did not conceal its displeasure with the appointment and accused the government of making concessions to Israel.
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Spotlight on Terrorism – November 2025

During November 2025 the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remained in force, bringing a halt to Houthi attacks as well. Counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria continued. The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah remained in force, despite IDF attacks on Hezbollah targets; The Gaza Strip: The ceasefire that went into effect on October 10, 2025, continued. IDF forces attacked suspicious Gazans who crossed the Yellow Line and eliminated terrorist operatives in response to ceasefire violations. The bodies of nine murdered hostages were returned to Israel, while the body of one murdered hostage remained in the Gaza Strip. No rockets were fired at Israeli territory; Israel, Judea and Samaria: There was one terrorist attack in which an Israeli civilian was killed. Israeli security forces continued counterterrorism activity throughout Judea and Samaria and launched a new large-scale operation in northern Samaria. Wanted suspects and terrorist operatives planning attacks were eliminated, and weapons were located. A terrorist network was exposed which transferred weapons under the direction of an Arab-Israeli Hamas operative operating from Turkey; Lebanon: The IDF continued attacks on Hezbollah's attempts to violate the ceasefire which went into effect on November 27, 2024, and on the organization's efforts to reconstruct itself and replenish its arsenal. More than 20 Hezbollah operatives were eliminated, including a military commander and several of his aides in an attack in Beirut, and military facilities were attacked in south Lebanon and the Beqa'a Valley. Thirteen Hamas terrorist operatives were eliminated in an attack on the Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp; Syria: IDF forces continued to operate in southern Syria; six IDF soldiers were wounded in exchanges of fire during an operation to detain wanted al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya terrorist operatives; The Houthis: The Houthis have not attacked Israel or ships since the start of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip; Terrorism abroad: Iranian attempts to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Mexico and attack Israeli targets in Africa were foiled. A Hamas terrorist network in central Europe was exposed, involving the son of a senior Hamas figure.a
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Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (November 26 – December 3, 2025)

In a public letter on the occasion of the “Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” the Iranian President called for a solution to the Palestinian problem based on an end to the “occupation,” the return of the Palestinian refugees, and the realization of their right to self-determination; Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon said that Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem’s remarks that the organization would respond to the elimination of the organization’s chief of staff, Haytham Ali al-Tabatabai, indicated a change in Hezbollah’s strategy toward Israel; Iran has reportedly transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the past year through a network of businesses in Dubai; Political tension between Iran and Lebanon following the remarks of the senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who claimed that Hezbollah’s existence is more vital to Lebanon than bread and water. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson reasserted that Tehran does not interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs; Iran and the Houthis condemned the IDF activity to arrest terror suspects in Beit Jinn in southern Syria. The Iranian Foreign Ministry praised the “resistance” of young Syrians in the face of “Israeli aggression.”; It is claimed that against the backdrop of the reorganization of the Houthi movement, competition has developed between two different approaches regarding the future of relations with Iran; A senior official in a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia said they are working in cooperation with the Houthis to renew their military capabilities and threatened that they are preparing an updated list of targets that would “hurt the usurping entity [Israel]” if a new campaign broke out. The US special envoy to Syria and Lebanon reportedly warned the Iraqi Prime Minister that Israel would attack in Iraq if the militias helped Hezbollah in the event of an Israeli action against the organization; The senior Shiite parties in Iraq reportedly decided to prevent the integration of militia-affiliated figures in the new government due to American pressure and in order to gain international recognition.
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (November 24 – December 1, 2025)

The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon to enforce the ceasefire agreement, which prohibited the organization's presence south of the Litani River. The IDF reported that in the year since the ceasefire, more than 370 terrorist operatives, most of them from Hezbollah, had been eliminated and there had been approximately 1,200 targeted ground operations to destroy terrorist infrastructure and damage the organization's military- capabilities; Hezbollah warned that the organization would respond to the elimination of its acting chief of staff, Haitham Ali al-Tabataba'i, and accused the Lebanese government of weakness. They also repeated Hezbollah's opposition to negotiations with Israel and claimed that meeting the demands would be "surrender."; The prime minister of Lebanon said that the state was in a "one-sided war of attrition" and accused Israel of delaying the withdrawal of its forces from south Lebanon on the pretext of Hezbollah's presence, even though its technological capabilities allowed it to monitor the situation without a presence on the ground. He also criticized the delay in implementing the decision on the state's monopoly on weapons and stressed that Hezbollah's weapons did not bring deterrence or victory; A newspaper affiliated with Hezbollah claimed that Lebanese officials were surprised by the position of the Egyptian foreign minister, who demanded Hezbollah be disarmed and warned of a large-scale Israeli operation by air and land; To dispel criticism of its handling of Hezbollah's disarmament, the Lebanese army invited journalists to visit a Hezbollah tunnel located in south Lebanon and claimed that Israel had not provided proof that Hezbollah was smuggling weapons; Hezbollah denied claims that a human breach of the organization had enabled the targeted killings of senior figures, but the organization has reportedly limited the use of smartphones and taken additional security measures after the killing of al-Tabataba'i
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