Iran’s terror proxies and why the Ayatollah is untouchable

Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Badr Organization, the Al-Ashtar Brigades – these are just some of the terrorist groups that function as proxies of Iran’s Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei’s regime.

Since 1979, Iran’s terrorist proxies have wrought terror attacks and political upheavals in the Middle East. This includes the brutal assault on Israel last Oct. 07, 2023.

The Ayatollah’s reign of terror is driven by a mix of geopolitical, ideological and security objectives. They are: to destroy and eliminate the state of Israel and oppose western imperialism; to establish Iran as the leader of the global Shiite community and the broader Islamic world; to export Islamic Shia to the Middle East and beyond (Shia laws are based on extreme fundamentalist tenets which are both oppressive and violent); for Iran to become the dominant power in the Gulf; for Iran to be a nuclear power, thereby enabling her to project power worldwide; to upend the rule-based, free market, democratic system that was established by the United States and replace it with a world order that forwards the Iranian agenda (this is done in tandem with Russia, China and North Korea).

In pursuit of these objectives, the regime has resorted to multifaceted strategies. These include maintaining an iron grip on the home front. The Ayatollah maintains an iron grip on the domestic politics of Iran by maintaining strict control over all branches of government. Iran’s Guardian Council, a body appointed by the Ayatollah himself, vets candidates for political office, ensuring that only those loyal to the system are elected. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij militia play the role of suppressing dissent and enforcing ideological loyalty within the country.

It uses a unifying rhetoric. The Ayatollah regime uses anti-US and anti-Israel rhetoric to galvanize domestic support and project its stance internationally. The Ayatollah refers to the US as the “Great Satan” and Israel as a “Zionist regime,” whilst positioning Iran as a leader in the resistance against western imperialism.

It destabilizes the region. Through its terrorist proxies, the regime