Iran’s proxies in the Middle East remain a powerful force

A recent altercation with Israel has exposed their limits

Iranian clerics carrying flags and a portrait of the Iranian former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani (C) who were killed in an American drone attack in Baghdad airport, shout anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans during a symbolic gathering at the International Imam Khomeini Airport (IKIA) in the south of Tehran for traveling to Gaza to fight against Israel as a sign of their unity with Palestinian people, on May 19, 2021. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images) — Image: Getty Images

May 18th 2023

As Israeli aircraft pounded the beleaguered Gaza Strip for five days, starting on May 9th, officials in Jerusalem were at pains to point out that they were targeting only the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militia (pij). This is a small radical group funded by Iran, which had been firing rockets at Israeli towns. Israel’s strategy was clear. It wanted Hamas, the larger Islamist movement that controls Gaza, to stay out of the fight. This is because it has a much larger arsenal of rockets, many provided by Iran, which can paralyse life in Israel much more effectively.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A power project”