Hezbollah

Hezbollah (“Party of God”) is a Shia terrorist organization based primarily in Lebanon, where it also maintains a powerful domestic political power base.  The purpose of Hezbollah’s existence is to pose a constant existential threat to Israel on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which funds and arms its Lebanese proxy. Hezbollah was founded with the help of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) which sent forces to Lebanon in 1982 amid the civil war. Hezbollah is also opposed to American influence across the Middle East. 

The group has carried out attacks around the world including in Lebanon, Israel, Europe, Argentina, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Hezbollah agents have been arrested for plotting attacks in the U.S., and have even been caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally through the southern border.

Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel, Hezbollah joined the fighting and began launching rockets and attacks at northern areas across Israel. In late September 2024, the group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several other leading figures were killed in an airstrike attributed to Israel on Hezbollah’s headquarters outside Beirut.

Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist entity by 22 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Colombia and Argentina. The European Union, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council have also declared Hezbollah’s military wing a terrorist group.