Iran

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (September 8 – 15, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah infrastructure and eliminated operatives of the organization as part of ongoing operations against Hezbollah's presence in south Lebanon, which violates the ceasefire agreement understandings, and against Hezbollah's efforts to increase its military-terrorist capabilities and restore its arsenal. They attacked elite Radwan Unit training camps in the Beqa'a Valley in northeastern Lebanon and eliminated at least eight Hezbollah terrorist operatives, including one who also belonged to the Imam Hussein Division of the Iranian Qods Force; Lebanese President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun met with the French envoy and called for international pressure to be exerted on Israel to stop its attacks in Lebanon; Na'im Qassem, Hezbollah secretary general, opposed the Lebanese government's plan for a state monopoly on weapons and called on the government to realize its sovereignty, fight corruption and reorganize the state. Other Hezbollah figures said the organization was not prepared to give up its weapons and claimed the government discussions on disarmament were contrary to the National Pact. The United States approved an aid package of $14.2 million to assist the Lebanese army in implementing the monopoly on weapons; The authorities in Syria foiled more than ten attempts to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon within the past two months; The Lebanese army continued to disarm the PLO and Fatah, and for the first time removed weapons from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon, one of the most complex in the country, and from the al-Badawi camp in northern Lebanon. According to reports, the Lebanese authorities were continuing talks with Hamas representatives to persuade them to hand over their weapons. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (September 3-10 2025)

Iran, the Houthis, and other pro-Iranian militias within the Shiite axis strongly condemned the Israeli attack on the Hamas leadership in Qatar. Iran’s Supreme Leader urged Muslim countries to sever their trade and political ties with Israel. The Iranian foreign minister discussed developments in the Palestinian arena in his meetings with the Emir of Qatar and the Egyptian foreign minister. Iran had reportedly asked a senior Iraqi official to grant it exceptional concessions at the border crossing between Iraq and Syria to transfer cash shipments for Hezbollah. An Iranian news agency strongly criticized the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, claiming that the organization’s weapons not only provide a guarantee for Lebanon’s security but are part of the regional deterrence equation. Elizabeth Tsurkov, holding Israeli and Russian citizenship, who was kidnapped in Iraq by the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, was released from captivity and handed over to the United States. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (September 1– 9, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah facilities and eliminated operatives of the organization as part of ongoing operations against Hezbollah's presence in south Lebanon, which violates the ceasefire agreement understandings, and against Hezbollah's efforts to increase its military-terrorist capabilities and restore its arsenal. The army's plan for disarming all organizations in Lebanon was presented and approved at a Lebanese government meeting. Amal and Hezbollah government ministers left the meeting in protest as soon as the issue of disarmament was raised, and one of their ministers declared that any decision made without the representatives of the Shi'ite community was contrary to the National Agreement. According to reports, American transport planes landed at an air force base in the Beqa'a Valley carrying military equipment to aid the Lebanese army in carrying out the disarmament plan. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met in Beirut with Admiral Brad Coooper, the new United States CENTCOM commander, who also met with the committee monitoring the ceasefire. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran and the Shiite Axis (August 27—September 3, 2025)

The Iranian president declared that the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip and the 12-day war between Iran and Israel demonstrate the failure of the international community to ensure peace and security; The Houthis confirmed that the Prime Minister and at least nine of his ministers and other senior officials had been killed. They threatened a “painful” response against Israel. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (August 25 – September 1, 2025)

IDF forces attacked Hezbollah infrastructure and eliminated operatives of the organization as part of ongoing operations against Hezbollah's presence in south Lebanon, which violates the ceasefire agreement understanding, and against Hezbollah's efforts to increase its military capabilities and restore its arsenal. The forces attacked underground infrastructures in the Beaufort ridge and eliminated two Hezbollah terrorist operatives; Hezbollah supporters prevented the American special envoy, Thomas Barrack, from visiting two locations in south Lebanon; The UN Security Council approved extending UNIFIL's mandate until the end of 2026, after which the UN force will begin to withdraw and transfer full responsibility to the Lebanese army; The Lebanese government meeting to present the army's plan for Hezbollah's disarmament was postponed to September 5, 2025. A Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper claimed the army said it could not implement the plan because of lack of resources, and the army commander threatened to resign if he were required to spill Lebanese blood. The Lebanese army stated it was acting according to directives to preserve the state's security. Hezbollah secretary general, Na'im Qassem, and other Hezbollah officials reiterated that they had no intention of surrendering the weapons of the "resistance," but Lebanese Parliament speaker Berri said they were prepared to hold a dialogue on the issue. Lebanese government officials expressed frustration over Israel's refusal to present practical steps for the withdrawal of IDF forces from south Lebanon and for stopping its attacks; The PLO and Fatah continued handing over weapons and military equipment from the Lebanese refugee camps, focusing on the three camps in the Tyre area. According to reports, Qatar was trying to mediate between the Lebanese government and Hamas, which still refused to hand over its weapons. Read more...

Is South Syria a Terrorist Threat to Israel? The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, a Test Case

During the Syrian Civil War, which broke out in 2011, the area of south Syria became an arena for the activity of Salafi-jihadist terrorist organizations in addition to Hezbollah and the Iranian Qods Force, which sought to establish another front against Israel based on local operatives and Shi'ite militias; The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 led to the removal of most of the Iranian-backed elements from the Syrian Golan area and to the takeover of south Syria by the rebel forces and the IDF, but new groups began to appear in the area seeking to attack IDF forces stationed in the Syrian Golan and to push them back beyond the border. As a result, the IDF increased its activity to find weapons in south Syria, carried out targeted killings and detained terrorist operatives in the area, some of them belonging to the Qods Force and Hamas; At the beginning of 2025, an organization calling itself the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria – Men of Heroism began publishing statements attacking the Israeli presence in Syrian territory and issuing claims of responsibility for military actions targeting IDF forces in south Syria. Despite doubts about its existence and actual support on the ground, the Resistance Front claimed it was organized and structured, cooperating and allied with other groups whose declared goal was to expel the "occupiers" from Syrian soil; The Resistance Front also claimed it did not depend on other organizations and was not subordinate to other states, but declared its affiliation with the "resistance axis" and complete support for Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations; In ITIC assessment, the Resistance Front may be an attempt by Iran and Hezbollah to reactivate the network they constructed under the Assad regime to attack IDF forces operating in south Syria or inside Israel, and thereby provoke an Israeli military response against the security forces of the al-Shara regime, which would further destabilize Syria. However, despite its prominent presence on social media and the abundance of statements issued in its name, there is still no conclusive evidence that the Resistance Front in fact exists or that it possesses significant military capabilities. Its claims of cooperation and alliances with other organizations in Syria have also not yet materialized. Read more...

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