Spotlight on Iran

Highlights^[1]

• Senior Iranian officials continued to threaten Israel against renewing the fighting with Iran.
• The secretary of the Supreme National Security Council rejected the claims that the “Resistance Front” is weakening and made it clear that Iran would continue its support for the “resistance” forces.
• The Iranian Supreme Leader said that Israel is “the most hated regime in the world” because of its “crimes” in the Gaza Strip. The Iranian foreign minister called for increased pressure on Israel over the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip.
• Senior Iranian officials reiterated their opposition to disarming Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shiite militias. The militias in Iraq made it clear to the government that they have no intention of giving up their weapons.
• The Houthis fired a missile with a cluster warhead at Israel for the first time. The IDF admitted that the interception attempts had failed. No casualties were reported. In response, the IDF attacked Houthi targets in Sana’a. The Houthis reported ten fatalities and made it clear that they would not stop the attacks “in support” of the Palestinians. Iran and the “Axis of Resistance” condemned the IDF attacks and praised the Houthis’ activity against Israel.

Iran in the wake of the war with Israel

• In a letter to Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh on the occasion of National Defense Industry Day, IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour warned of a harsh Iranian response to any further Israeli attack. The letter stated that the experience of the “Twelve-Day War” once again proved that the strategy of strengthening the overall defense and relying on internal capabilities prevents the “enemies” from achieving their goals and deters them from new adventures. He stressed that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic would respond decisively, swiftly, and painfully to any miscalculation by the “enemy” (Tabnak, August 21, 2025).
• The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Amir Hatami, also sent a letter to the minister of defense on the occasion of National Defense Industry Day, warning that “the brave sons of the state in the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran” are ready, as they were in the past, to respond with great force and in an even more decisive and painful manner against any “aggressor” (IRNA, August 22, 2025).

Iran’s relations with the “Axis of Resistance” after the war

• Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, addressed in an extensive interview the ties between Tehran and the organizations of the “Axis of Resistance.” He argued that if the “Resistance Front” had indeed weakened, as Israel and the United States claim, then they should have no reason to pressure it or interfere in its affairs. According to him, the greater the pressure on the “resistance,” the deeper it becomes. Larijani stressed that even after the war, Iran will continue its support for the “resistance,” since it regards it as an authentic current and an asset. Just as the “enemy” uses all its capabilities, he said, Iran must also employ its own. He added that the forces of the “resistance” need Iran’s help, and that Iran, for its part, also needs them, since regional isolation does not serve its national security. He emphasized that Iran has never imposed anything on the “resistance,” and that the relationship of the “resistance” forces with Iran stems from fraternity, not subordination. He noted that Iran is not seeking control but rather believes in the existence of independent and strong governments in the region, including in Lebanon and Iraq (Supreme Leader’s website, August 22, 2025).

Iran’s involvement in the Palestinian arena

• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in his speech at a meeting marking the anniversary of the death of the eighth Shiite Imam, Ali Reza, accused Israel of committing “unprecedented crimes” in the Gaza Strip, including “the murder of children, starvation, and massive shooting at people standing in line for food.” He also said that “the Zionist regime is the most hated regime in the world,” and that even Western governments such as Britain and France, which have always supported it, now condemn it (Tasnim, August 24, 2025).
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, to discuss regional developments. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that both sides expressed deep concern over “the continuation of the genocide in the Gaza Strip,” strongly condemned “the illegal and criminal plan of the Zionist regime to militarily occupy Gaza City and forcibly displace its residents,” and stressed the need to immediately stop the “genocide” and to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Araghchi said that the emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is an opportunity to coordinate positions and take practical steps to help the Palestinian people and to combat the “war policy of the Zionist regime,” especially its dangerous plan known as “Greater Israel” to occupy Arab-Islamic lands (Iranian Foreign Ministry website, August 20, 2025).
• In his speech at the foreign ministers’ conference in Jeddah, Araghchi accused Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing,” describing the situation in the Gaza Strip as “the organized extermination of a besieged people by a cruel apartheid regime enjoying full immunity.” He called for the mobilization of all political, economic, and legal tools against Israel, including sanctions, boycott, and international pressure, as well as the prosecution of all those who took part in or enabled the “war crimes and genocide in Palestine,” and the immediate severing of all ties with Israel. He stressed that this is not a time for speeches and promises, but for action (Iranian Foreign Ministry website, August 25, 2025).

• During his visit to Jeddah, Araghchi discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip and the need for cooperation among Muslim countries against Israel in his meetings with his counterparts from Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Algeria (Iranian Foreign Ministry website, August 24-25, 2025).
• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei condemned the attack on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis on August 25, 2025, calling it “a barbaric war crime as part of the plan for the genocide of the Palestinians.” He criticized the inaction of international institutions in the face of the “grave violations of human rights in Gaza and the West Bank” and emphasized the legal and moral responsibility of all governments to stop the “genocide” and to prosecute the “Nazi and racist Zionist criminals” (Iranian Foreign Ministry website, August 25, 2025).

Iran’s involvement in Lebanon

• Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, referred to the efforts to disarm Hezbollah. He noted that Iran had helped Hezbollah and is still helping it. However, he stressed that it was the Lebanese people who created the organization, which had become an asset to the Lebanese in the struggle against Israel. Regarding his visit to Lebanon, Larijani said that both the Hezbollah leadership and the organization’s youth are very determined in their path, willing to sacrifice their lives for the defense of Lebanon and are not willing to surrender (Supreme Leader’s website, August 22, 2025).
• Iraj Masjedi, deputy commander of the Qods Force for Coordination, called the plan to disarm Hezbollah an “American-Zionist plan” and stressed that neither the Lebanese people nor Hezbollah would accept this plan and that it would never be implemented. He noted that the weapon of the “resistance” is the weapon of the Lebanese people to defend their country against “the aggression of the Zionist regime.” Masjedi added that the discussion surrounding disarmament is not a new issue, but it would not materialize under any circumstances (Defa Press, August 25, 2025).

Iran amid developments in Syria

• Iran’s representative to the UN, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said in a UN Security Council discussion on the situation in Syria that the council cannot ignore Israel’s continued actions that undermine stability in the country. He noted that Israel’s repeated attacks in Syria result in killing civilians, destroying vital infrastructure, and exacerbating regional tensions. He added that Iran unequivocally rejects any attempt to weaken Syria’s sovereignty, change its demographic composition, or divide it, and stressed the need to end the Israeli “occupation” of the Golan Heights. In his speech, the ambassador referred to the recent developments in the Druze region of Al-Suwayda in southern Syria and warned against a renewal of violence in the absence of stable arrangements. In addition, he stressed the need to take measures against those responsible for the crimes committed against the Alawites in Latakia and Tartus and called for expanding the political dialogue between the Syrian authorities and the Kurds in the northeast of the country (Tasnim, August 21, 2025).

Iran amid developments in Iraq

• Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in Iraq, said that the U.S. demands regarding the disarmament of the Popular Mobilization Forces (the umbrella organization of the pro-Iranian Shiite militias in Iraq) are nothing more than unattainable wishes, and that the Iraqi people will by no means agree to such a thing. He stated that it is well known that the U.S. seeks to inflict on Iraq the same calamity it brought upon Syria, but that such claims are baseless. According to him, the members of the Popular Mobilization Forces are loyal and trained fighters who possess sufficient military capabilities. All of them are on the “frontline of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Resistance,” and with God’s help, no problem will occur. Referring to the expressions of support shown by Iraqi citizens toward Iran during the “Twelve-Day War,” Hosseini said that the Iraqis regarded this war as not only against Iran, but also against the “Islamic Resistance,” Shiism, and Islam (Fars, August 23, 2025).

The Houthis in Yemen

The direct confrontation between the Houthis and Israel

• On August 22, 2025, the Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saria, claimed responsibility for an attack on Ben Gurion Airport using a “hypersonic” Felesteen-2 ballistic missile. According to Saria, the attack achieved its objectives after the missile evaded the Israeli interception systems (Yahya Saria’s Telegram channel, August 22, 2025). The IDF Spokesperson reported that several attempts were made to intercept a missile launched from Yemen, and that debris had fallen in the central region, causing minor damage. No casualties were reported (IDF Spokesperson and Israeli media, August 22, 2025). Later, the IDF confirmed that an initial Israeli Air Force investigation found that the missile carried a cluster warhead – the first time the Houthis had fired such a missile at Israel – and that the interception attempts were unsuccessful (Israeli media, August 23–24, 2025).
• Shortly after the missile was launched, Nasreddine Amer, the deputy head of the Houthis’ Media Authority, released a video documenting the moment when “the missile splits into several missiles in Israeli airspace.” In addition, he claimed that “there are two segments that clearly demonstrate the missile’s arrival at the target and refute the enemy’s claims about interception” (Nasreddine Amer’s X account, August 22-23, 2025).

     
Right: The “split” of the Houthi missile launched at Israel (Al-Masirah, August 23, 2025). Left: A poster issued by the Houthis depicting Ben Gurion Airport under missile attack (Houthi Telegram channel, August 27, 2025)

• On August 24, 2025, Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked military infrastructure in the Sana’a area. It was reported that, among other things, a military compound containing the presidential palace, the Asar and Haziz power stations, and a fuel storage site were attacked. It was also noted that the presidential palace is located in the military compound from which the military operations of the Houthi forces are conducted, and that the Haziz and Asar power stations were used by the Houthis as a significant electricity supply infrastructure for their military activities (IDF Spokesperson, August 24, 2025).
• The attack in Sana’a reportedly took place near the presidential compound and missile bases and was aimed at a depot of petroleum products southwest of the city. It was also reported that the attack was aimed at the oil company station on Al-Seteen Street in Sana’a, and hit civilian facilities, including the Haziz main power plant. The attack was reportedly also aimed at a security building in the center of Sana’a (Arab and international media, August 24, 2025). According to the Houthi Ministry of Health, ten people were killed and 92 were wounded in the attacks (Saba News Agency, August 25, 2025).

     
Photos documenting the Israeli airstrikes against the Houthis (Al-Masirah, August 24, 2025)

• Senior Houthi leaders condemned the Israeli attack but stressed that they have no intention of stopping the operations “in support” of the Palestinians:
  • Houthis’ Foreign Ministry said that “the aggression will not go unpunished” and that “Our support for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip will not change, no matter what the victims are.” In addition, the ministry called on the international community to condemn the Israeli attacks (Al-Masirah, August 24, 2025).
  • The Houthis’ political bureau stated that the “Israeli aggression” is directing its “barbaric raids” at civilians and civilian sites in a desperate attempt to dissuade the Yemeni people and its armed forces from continuing to support the Gaza Strip. The statement further said that “the persistence of the Israeli aggression in committing war crimes in search of an image confirms its intelligence failure and its inability to deter. The temporary enemy entity has been struck by Yemeni attacks that exceeded its systems” (Houthis’ armed forces media arm X account, August 24, 2025).
  • Hezam al-Asad, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, stated: “Through its aggression against our people, the Zionist enemy is trying to deceive itself with an imaginary victory by striking a power station or a fuel tank to raise the morale of its settlers with the rising smoke. But it is faltering, mired in failure and defeat. Our positions are principled and firm, and our actions in support of Gaza will continue and expand” (Hezam al-Asad’s X account, August 24, 2025).
  • Mohammed al-Farah, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said that the “enemy” is targeting civilian facilities and “deliberately harming civilians, as it is doing in Gaza.” He added that these attacks reflect the level of pain that the “enemy” has suffered as a result of the Yemeni missiles and emphasize that the Houthi attacks had achieved their goals. He stressed the Houthis’ position in support of the Gaza Strip until the “aggression” stops, the “siege” is lifted, and the “famine” is prevented, and called on the international community not to stand idly by (Mohammed al-Farah’s Telegram channel, August 24, 2025).
  • Lieutenant-General Abed al-Thour, deputy chief of the Ideological Department of the Houthi armed forces, threatened Israel following the attack, saying that “we will redouble our operations and reach greater targets deep within the entity.” He warned that “we have greater military options than we have used against the enemy.” In addition, he claimed that Houthi air defenses neutralized part of the attack and threatened that when the U.S. involvement against the Houthis is confirmed, they will return to harming its interests. He also said that the presidential headquarters was empty and not in use and claimed that the Israeli attacks were aimed at residential areas with a high population density and that attacking civilian facilities and residential areas is a “war crime” (Al Jazeera, August 24, 2025).
• The Houthis’ partners in the “Axis of Resistance” also condemned the Israeli attack:
  • Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei strongly condemned the Israeli attack in Sana’a, noting that the repeated attacks on Yemen’s economic and civilian infrastructure, including airports, ports, power plants, and food warehouses, constitute “a war crime and a crime against humanity.” He also praised the Houthis for their support of the Palestinians (ISNA, August 24, 2025).
  • Hamas said that the “aggression” against civilian areas was a “blatant violation” of the sovereignty of the Arab states and international law. The movement expressed its appreciation for the Houthis’ position toward the Palestinians (Hamas Telegram channel, August 24, 2025).
  • The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) noted that “the attack on civilian facilities is another war crime” and thanked the Houthis for their actions (PIJ Telegram channel, August 24, 2025).
  • In a statement issued by Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, they condemned “the treacherous aggression of the evil Zionist entity against our beloved Yemen, which was directed against civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities and services, which led to the killing and wounding of dozens of innocent people, in a new crime that was added to its long record of war crimes and genocide.” It was also stated that “this cruel bombing, which was directed against the steadfast Yemeni people, is a natural link in the series of Zionist crimes – supported by America – against peoples who reject its barbaric approach to the children and elderly of Gaza, in an effort to achieve its goals of expansion and to impose a fait accompli.” The militia expressed solidarity with the Yemeni people and its armed forces and saluted “their heroic positions towards the Palestinian people and their steadfast resistance” (Kata’ib Hezbollah Telegram channel, August 25, 2025).
• In addition to the ballistic missile with a cluster warhead, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria claimed responsibility for two attacks using drones, which he claimed also achieved their goal (Yahya Saria’s Telegram channel, August 22, 2025). The IDF Spokesperson confirmed that a drone launched from Yemen was intercepted (IDF Spokesperson, August 22, 2025). In addition, in the early morning hours of August 27, 2025, the IDF Spokesperson confirmed that a missile launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory had been intercepted. No casualties were reported (IDF Spokesperson, August 27, 2025).
• Abd al-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, claimed in his weekly speech that the Houthi forces had carried out “two attacks against ships that violated the blockade in the northern Red Sea,” although there was no official claim of responsibility for attacks in the maritime space. He stressed that “the ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea continues, and the port of Eilat continues to be closed.” Al-Houthi also condemned “the inaction of the Muslim nation regarding the increasing crimes in the Gaza Strip” and the “Zionist ‘Greater Israel’ plan.” He said that “the end of the Jewish-Zionist project is a decisive divine blow that will lead to their destruction” (Al-Masirah, August 21, 2025).
• Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei praised the Houthis’ activity against Israel in his speech at a meeting marking the anniversary of the death of the eighth Shiite Imam, Ali Reza. He stressed that in the face of “Israel’s crimes,” words and condemnations are not enough, but action must be taken as the “brave people of Yemen” did, blocking the aid routes to the “Zionist regime” from all sides (Tasnim, August 24, 2025).

The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq

Disarming the militias

• Falih al-Fayyad, chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces, referred to the Popular Mobilization Law, which is intended to formalize the activities of the umbrella organization of the pro-Iranian militias, and stressed that the political controversy surrounding the law has nothing to do with its contents. According to him, some of the disagreements are related to the head of the organization, as well as to the fact that the Popular Mobilization Forces currently have full legal qualifications. He also stressed that the Popular Mobilization Forces are an Iraqi organization committed to the defense of the country, and that it has no foreign role, no hostility, and no connection to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Al-Fayyad made it clear that the Popular Mobilization Forces are ready to defend embassies and foreign missions, including even the American embassy, if Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia’ al-Sudani assigns them with this task (Iraqi TV channel Dijlah, August 20, 2025).

• “A prominent source in the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq” said that the “resistance” had clearly informed the Iraqi government that it would not give up its weapons. He said the message was emphasized after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the vision of the “Greater Land of Israel,” which, according to the source, includes Baghdad (Al-Akhbar, August 23, 2025).

The American presence in Iraq

• The Coordination Committee of the Iraqi Resistance Factions stated that Washington’s promises cannot be trusted, as it claimed that while the American presence at bases in Iraq was reduced, they increased their activity in Iraqi airspace. The statement also said that it is a “violation” of the country’s sovereignty and stressed that the Iraqi “resistance fighters” and the Popular Mobilization forces are ready to defend Iraq. The Coordination Committee also called on the government and parliament to fulfill their role in monitoring the deployment of the American “occupation” forces and to force them to withdraw (Telegram channel of the Coordination Committee of the Iraqi Resistance Factions, August 21, 2025).
• Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani met with Qais al-Khazali, the secretary-general of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq militia, to discuss the latest political and security developments in Iraq, with an emphasis on the need to combine national efforts “to protect stability and strengthen internal unity.” They also addressed the issue of the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, “with an emphasis on taking practical steps” (Qais al-Khazali’s X account, August 21, 2025).

• Subsequently, “political sources” reported that the United States had decided to withdraw all its forces from the Ain al-Assad and Victoria bases in Iraq “by surprise.” It was reported that the transfer of forces to Erbil in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq and to a neighboring Arab country had begun, and that the Americans had informed their Iraqi counterparts that they would accelerate the withdrawal process and would not act according to the timetable set out in the framework agreement between the parties (Sky News Arabia, August 24, 2025).

The militias in Syria

• The “Islamic Resistance Front in Syria – Possessors of Might” (Uli al-Baas, or UAB) accused the “Israeli occupation forces” of attacking civilian homes in the village of Taranja, in the northern Quneitra Governorate, killing one person. The statement said that the attack “underscores the criminal nature of the Zionist enemy” and that the casualty “wrote with his pure blood a new page in the register of shaheeds who have watered the soil of the Golan Heights and Syria.” The Front further accused that Israel’s continued incursions into southern Syria are made possible by the unwillingness and inaction of the “de facto government” (President Ahmad al-Shara’s government), which it claimed is “abandoning its national duty and focusing on maintaining a fragile government while persecuting and silencing free and loyal voices, to the point of overt coordination with the enemy.” The Front stressed that “the blood of the shaheed, like the other shaheeds of the Golan Heights and Syria,” had not been spilled in vain, and that the “resistance” would remain the only path to restore rights and defend the land – “far from the illusions of compromise and the false government” (Telegram channel of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, August 26, 2025).
• Talal Hassan, who identified himself as deputy commander of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, said that Israeli Defense Minister Katz’s remarks that IDF forces would maintain a presence on Mount Hermon and in the buffer zone in southern Syria were “a desperate attempt to present a false reality and hide the weakness of the Israeli army.” According to him, Israel’s claims about “border guarding” are a “blatant lie,” and the presence of the “Zionist occupation” in Syrian territory is temporary and must end. Hassan stressed that the “resistance” has proven itself time and time again as a major actor thwarting Israel’s plans. He promised that the coming days would bring “severe blows to every Israeli soldier and to every territory that Israel controls.” He threatened that “the occupation will end in a much more painful way than you expect” (Telegram channel of the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, August 26, 2025).

^[1] The weekly study includes the activities of Iran, the Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen.

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