The term Axis of Resistance (, ) refers to an informal anti-Israeli and anti-Western political and military coalition led by Iran. It includes militant groups in Palestine, the Syrian Government, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Pro-Syrian Ba'athist militias, Iraqi Shia militias that are part of the Iraqi government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Houthi movement in Yemen are also considered part of the alliance.
Despite the alliance's differing ideologies, such as secular Ba'athism, Shia Khomeinism, etc., they are unified by their declared objectives of opposing the activities of pro-Western parties, Israel, Arab Gulf states, Sunni militants and the MEK in the region.
History
The term was first used by the Libyan daily newspaper Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar in response to American president George W. Bush's claim that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea formed an "axis of evil." In an article titled "Axis of evil or axis of resistance", the paper wrote in 2002 that "the only common denominator among Iran, Iraq, and North Korea is their resistance to US hegemony." The Iranian newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami subsequently adopted the language in reference to the Shia insurgency in Iraq, writing in 2004 that "if the line of Iraq's Shi'is needs to be linked, united, and consolidated, this unity should be realized on the axis of resistance and struggle against the occupiers."
In 2006, the Palestinian minister of the interior, Said Saim, used the term during an interview at Al-Alam television to refer to common political goals among Arabs in opposition to those of Israel or the United States. Noting the large number of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Saim stated, "Syria is also an Islamic Arab country and is also targeted by the Americans and the Zionists. Hence, we see in Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas an axis of resistance in front of these pressures."
The term "axis of resistance" was used as early as August 2010. After two years, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor for foreign affairs to Iran's supreme leader, used the term and said:
The phrase was used again in August 2012 during a meeting between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, regarding the Syrian Civil War. Velayati said:
The Syrian state-run news agency, SANA, has stated that the two governments discussed their "strategic cooperation relationship" and "attempts by some Western countries and their allies to strike at the axis of resistance by targeting Syria and supporting terrorism there." The alliance has been described as an "Axis of Terror" by the prime minister and ambassadors of Israel.
With Hezbollah's intensifying participation in the Syrian civil war following the years after 2013, the coalition has become explicitly Khomeinist and anti-Sunni; with the Assad regime becoming beholden and subservient to Iran and its proxies for continued existence. Alienated by sectarian policies, Sunni Islamists such as Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas began publicly opposing Iran and Hezbollah and have aligned closely with Turkey and Qatar, countries which are engaged in geo-political competition with Iran.
Background
At first, the alliance consisted of the Syrian government and Lebanese Hezbollah. Years later, Iran, already closely aligned with Syria and Hezbollah, would form stronger relations between the three, creating the axis. Iraqi and Yemeni militants coordinating with Iran came in as the newest members of this alliance. After the beginning of Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War, a slew of posters showing images of Nasrallah, Assad, Khamenei, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have appeared with an Arabic caption meaning, "Men who bow to no one but God." The posters suggest another emerging regional Axis of Resistance, according to The Hill. However, this coalition has been described as "deeply polarising" for its sectarian targeting of Sunni Syrians. Hezbollah's actions have also arisen denunciation in Lebanon, most notably from Lebanese President Michael Sulieman, who demanded an end to unilateral armed maneuvers by Hezbollah. Grievance is also widespread amongst Lebanon's Sunni minority, who charge Hezbollah with engaging in sectarian violence against other Muslims, and of forfeiting its anti-Zionist stance.