How Hezbollah and Iran Connected

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

                         Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas, PIJ (PLO)        

Picture Iran as an octopus.  Hezbollah is one of its arms. Iran's primary helpers and proxy forces in the Middle East—collectively known as the Axis of Resistance—include the Houthi movement in Yemen, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. In addition to these groups, Iran backs several armed Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, which include the Popular Mobilization Forces. Together with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's first attacks against Israel occurred shortly after the group was founded in 1982, following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. 

Iran and Hezbollah officially connected and began receiving arms in 1982 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deployed approximately 1,500 personnel to Lebanon to organize, train, and arm various Shiite militant factions, which formally merged to become Hezbollah.

Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982 with the stated goal of halting Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) attacks across the northern Israeli border and pushing militants 40 km north. The catalyst was the attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov, Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, by gunmen. The assassination attempt on Israeli Ambassador Shlomo Argov in London on June 3, 1982, was actually carried out by the Abu Nidal Organization, a renegade Palestinian splinter group that was a bitter, violent rival to Yasser Arafat's PLO.  Despite Argov being targeted by a rival splinter group, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's cabinet ultimately held the PLO responsible as a whole. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes against Palestinian positions in Lebanon, which escalated into the 1982 Lebanon War three days later. It was the 2nd invasion of Lebanon by Israel following the 1978 South Lebanon conflict.  Israelis tried to end Palestinian attacks from Lebanon and destroy the PLO in the country and install a pro-Israel Maronite Christian government.  Israeli forces attacked; and overran PLO positions in southern Lebanon, clashing with Syrian Army who occupied the NE.  Israel and South Lebanon armies took control of southern Lebanon and sieged Beirut.  The timeline of Iran and Hezbollah's early connection and weapons transfers features a few key milestones:

• 1982: Iran's newly established regime sent IRGC forces to the Bekaa Valley to begin training Lebanese militants, marking the birth of the group.
• 1985: Hezbollah released its "Open Letter," officially aligning itself with Ayatollah Khomeini's leadership and cementing its status as an Iranian proxy. 
• 1980s–1990s: With Iranian funding—initially estimated between $36 and $100 million annually—Iran supplied Hezbollah with the equipment and tactical support necessary to carry out a guerrilla campaign in southern Lebanon.

For a detailed analysis of how this military and political partnership evolved into a central pillar of Iranian regional strategy, you can review the Brookings Institution Article or the Council on Foreign Relations Analysis. Furthermore, a complete historical record of their association is maintained on The Iran Primer for further reading. 

Formed with Iranian backing, the militant group of Hezbollah  began launching guerrilla warfare, roadside bombings, and rocket strikes against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon throughout the 1980s and 1990s.  The Lebanese had a clandestine alliance with Israel but refused to join the war because Bachir Gemayel viewed direct involvement to assist an  invading army. 

So the PLO and allies  got a ceasefire, and left Lebanon with help of a multinational peacekeeping force.  Israel hoped for "40 years of peace."

Support for regional nonstate actors has been a pillar of the Iranian government's foreign policy since the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic. Iran supports these groups to advance its foreign policy aims, including to position itself as the defender of Shia Muslim communities and other groups that the Iranian government characterizes as oppressed, such as the Palestinians. Perhaps preeminent among these aims is reducing threats that Iran may face stemming from the regional influence of the United States and its regional allies, with which the Iranian government "sees itself as locked in an existential struggle," according to a public assessment by the U.S. intelligence community.

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah%E2%80%93Iran_relations

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12587