A pawn in a dangerous game: Hezbollah’s role as an Iranian proxy

Hezbollah stands at a crossroads after Iran’s attack on Israel. Tehran launched drones and missiles from multiple directions; Hezbollah is a key Iranian-backed terrorist group. However, its role in the attack illustrates how it is trying to balance its role in Lebanon with its alliance with Iran.

On October 8, Hezbollah joined in the Hamas attack from the North. Over the past six months, it has posed as a support beam for Gaza and Palestinians. On Saturday, Hezbollah clearly supported Iran’s attack on Israel, which signals to Lebanon that Hezbollah is dragging Beirut into a potential escalation it might not want to be part of.

On Friday, a day before the Iranian attack, Hezbollah escalated its attacks on the North. Iran’s attack with drones and missiles, mobilizing the Houthis in Yemen to join in, included dozens of launches and culminated over the next two days with attacks against the Golan: Over 150 rockets targeted military bases.

This is a serious escalation, that, in the past, Hezbollah only did when claiming to respond to Israeli airstrikes deep inside Lebanon. The Hezbollah attack coincided with the Iranian attack to show support for its patron, extending far beyond Hezbollah’s claims to be backing Palestinians or “defending “ Lebanon.

That night, Hezbollah was part of the Iranian response to Israel. It is now apparent that Hezbollah acts on Iranian guidance.

“Hezbollah was part of the Iranian response to Israel”

Iran has backed Hezbollah since the 1980s; key IRGC members supported it. Now, Hezbollah is an Iranian tool and will have a harder time pretending that it is merely “resisting” in Lebanon. Hezbollah has perpetrated more than 3,100 attacks on Israel since October 7.

Now, its usefulness to Iran as a proxy could potentially lead to pressure in Lebanon to change course. As Hezbollah’s true colors are revealed, it is worth highlighting how Hezbollah has been holding Lebanon hostage to the Iranian escalation.

Israel’s goal in the North is to reestablish a secure border to allow the return of the 50,000 or so displaced citizens. This cannot be done if Hezbollah is on the border. Hezbollah would have to be pushed back more than 10 miles into Lebanon, as far back as the Litani River.

This would place Israel out of range of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missiles and its large short-range Burkan missiles and would make it harder for Hezbollah to conduct an October 7 type of attack.

As some in Lebanon become frustrated with Hezbollah’s actions, there may be an opportunity to achieve this goal now that it has revealed it is working for Iran, which makes it harder for it to spread its propaganda about backing Gaza.

Many questions remain about what comes next in Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon signed a maritime deal in 2022 that was supposed to benefit both countries and ostensibly reduce tensions. Before the deal, Hezbollah threatened Israel and then escalated tensions in early 2023. This shows that it cannot be trusted.

It is unclear how Hezbollah will be deterred from its attacks on Israel. Time will tell if the Iranian-backed group will change course. 

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.