The Iranian government has been accused by the United States of harbouring severalal-Qaeda leaders within their country despite mutual hostility between the two and their proxy groups and affiliates. In 2021, the U.S. claimed that al-Qaeda's new base of operations was in Iran.
After the fall of theShah in 1979, theIslamic Republic of Iran established theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to domestically promote the government's social policy. IRGC is accused of spreading its ideology in neighboring regions by training and funding "terrorist organizations". By 1986,IRGC had 350,000 members and had a small naval and air force. By 1996, its ground forces numbered 100,000 and the naval forces numbered 20,000. They are believed to use theQuds Force to train Islamist militants.[13]
In 1995, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard held a conference inBeirut with organizations accused of engaging in terrorism including theJapanese Red Army, theArmenian Secret Army, theKurdistan Workers' Party, theIraqi Da'wah Party, theIslamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain and Hezbollah for the sole purpose of providing training and weapons to these organizations, to aid in the destabilization of Gulf states, and give assistance to militants in these countries to replace the existing governments with Iran-aligned regimes.[14]
On 19 December 2018Albania expelled Iran's ambassador to the country,Gholamhossein Mohammadnia, and another Iranian diplomat for "involvement in activities that harm the country's security", for "violating their diplomatic status and supportingterrorism."[3] The expelled Iranians were alleged to have plotted terrorist attacks in the country, including targeting MEK\PMOI event to silence dissidents.[21]
In July 2022, Iranian state cyber actors—who identified themselves as "HomeLand Justice"—launched a destructive cyber attack against theAlbanian government,[22][23] rendering websites and services unavailable. AnFBI investigation indicates Iranian state cyber actors acquired initial access to the Albanian network approximately 14 months before launching the attack. On July 18, HomeLand Justice claimed credit. In September 2022, the same actors launched another wave ofCyberattack against the Albanian infrastructure, using similar malware as the Cyberattack in July. As a result, Albania officially severed diplomatic ties with Iran[24][25] and ordered Iranian embassy staff to leave the country, citing thecyberattacks.[26][27]
On 18 July 1994, there was an attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building inBuenos Aires,Argentina, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing ever. Argentina accused Tehran in 2006 of being behind the attacks, and indicted several senior Iranian officials, includingHashemi Rafsanjani andAhmad Vahidi, as well as Hezbollah'sImad Mughniyah.
On 30 September 2015,Bahraini security forces discovered a large bomb-making factory inNuwaidrat and arrested a number of suspects linked to theIranian Revolutionary Guards. The next day, 1 October,Bahrain recalled its ambassador toIran and asked the Iranian actingcharge d’affaires to leave the kingdom within 72 hours after he was declaredpersona non-grata. Bahrain's decision to recall its ambassador came "in light of continued Iranian meddling in the affairs of the kingdom of Bahrain in order to create sectarian strife and to impose hegemony and control.[28][29]
On 6 January 2016, Bahrain said it had dismantled a terrorist cell allegedly linked to the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah. The Bahraini interior ministry said the cell was planning to carry out a “series of dangerous bombings” on the kingdom, and that many members were arrested including the group's leaders, 33-year-old twins Ali and Mohammed Fakhrawi.[30]
In October 2018,Denmark said the Iranian government intelligence service had tried to carry out a plot to assassinate an Iranian Arab opposition figure on its soil.[4] The planned assassination was of an exiled leader of theArab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz (ASMLA). Sweden extradited a Norwegian national of Iranian background to Denmark in connection with the foiled plot against the ASMLA leader.[31] In February 2020 Denmark arrested three leading members of an (ASMLA) group on suspicion of spying for Saudi Arabia and for supporting an attack in Iran in 2018.[32]
In October 2018 France froze Iranian financial assets in response to an alleged bomb plot to be carried out against an opposition group at a rally in Paris. The plot was said to be against theNational Council of Resistance of Iran, which styles itself as Iran'sgovernment-in-exile.[33]Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat in theVienna embassy, was arrested inGermany in connection with the alleged plot to blow up a meeting of Iranian dissidents inParis in June.[31]
The rally was attended by an estimated 100,000 Iranians and hundreds of international dignitaries. ABritish Member of Parliament who attended said "Had the plot succeeded, it would have been the deadliest terror operation ever carried out in Europe. The US would undeniably have declared war on Iran – and it was only because the plot was foiled, world war three was averted."Belgian police had been informed of a possible attack on the rally, and found 550g (1lb 3oz) of explosive and a detonator in the car of Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami. Saadouni, Naami, Assadi (believed to be the mastermind), and another Iranian went on trial inAntwerp on 27 November 2020. Court documents allege that Assadi was ordered by Iranian authorities to smuggle the explosives into Europe on a commercial flight, and give them to Saadouni and Naami, who were arrested two days later.[34]
In February 2021 Belgian court in Antwerp sentenced Assadollah Assadi to 20-year jail term for this bomb plot. Amir Saadouni and Nasimeh Naami and a fourth man, Belgian-Iranian poetMerhad Arefani, who was arrested in Paris and accused of being an accomplice, were convicted of taking part in the plot and given jail terms of 15 to 18 years.[35]
Iran supplies political support and weapons toHamas,[42] an organization classified by Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, Egypt, Australia and Japan as a terrorist organization.Mahmoud Abbas,President of the Palestinian National Authority, has said "Hamas is funded by Iran. It claims it is financed by donations, but the donations are nothing like what it receives from Iran".[43] From 2000 to 2004, Hamas was responsible for killing nearly 400 Israelis and wounding more than 2,000 in 425 attacks, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2001 through May 2008, Hamas launched more than 3,000 Qassam rockets and 2,500 mortar attacks into Israel.[44]
Its most deadly attack was on 7 October 2023, when the group launched[45][46][47] a sophisticated,coordinated surprise offensive on Israel, beginning witha barrage of at least 3,000 rockets,[48] and assault by approximately 2,500 militants who breached theGaza–Israel barrier, attackingmilitary bases and massacring civilians in neighboring Israeli communities.[49] At least 1,400 Israelis were killed.[50]
During the deployment of American troops inLebanon during theLebanese Civil War as part of theMultinational Force in Lebanon,Hezbollah, under the umbrellaIslamic Jihad Organization, carried out attacks against American and Israeli troops in Lebanon with Iranian support, including the1983 United States embassy bombing in Beirut and theBeirut barracks bombing. The U.S. maintains that the bombings were carried out with Iranian support.[51][52]During the 1980s and 1990s, a wave of kidnappings, bombings, and assassinations of Western targets, particularly American and Israeli, occurred in Lebanon and other countries. The attacks, attributed to Hezbollah, have included:
Thebombing of a Jewish community center inArgentina killing 85 people in 1994. Ansar Allah, a cover name for Hezbollah's external operations wing, claimed responsibility.[60] Argentine justice accused Iran of being behind the attacks because of Buenos Aires' decision to suspend a nuclear material delivery and technology transfer.[61]
The1994 AC Flight 901 attack, killing 21 people, in Panama. Ansar Allah expressed support for the attack in a possible claim to responsibility.[62][63]
The 1996Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 U.S. servicemen. On December 22, 2006, federal judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that Iran was responsible for the attack, stating "The totality of the evidence at trial...firmly establishes that the Khobar Towers bombing was planned, funded, and sponsored by senior leadership in the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The defendants' conduct in facilitating, financing, and providing material support to bring about this attack was intentional, extreme, and outrageous."[64]
TheKarbala provincial headquarters raid. On July 2, 2007, the U.S. military said that information from captured Hezbollah fighter Ali Musa Daqduq established a link between Quds Force and the Karbala raid. Daqduq worked as a liaison between Quds force and the Shia group that carried out the raid. According to the United States, Daqduq said that the Shia group "could not have conducted this complex operation without the support and direction of the Quds force."
The2012 Burgas bus bombing, killing 6, in Bulgaria.[65] Hezbollah is believed to have carried out that attack on its own accord, without any Iranian involvement or foreknowledge.[66]
Islamic Jihad is widely believed to be anom de guerre of the Lebanese Islamist political movement and social service agency Hezbollah, which was founded in 1982 with many millions of dollars of aid and considerable training and logistical support from the Islamic Republic. Many believe the group promotes the Iranian agenda and that its goal is to overthrow the moderate governments in theMiddle East and create Islamic Republics based on that of Iran as well as the destruction of Israel.[67] Iran has supplied them with substantial amounts offinancial, training, weapons (including long range rockets), explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid while persuading Hezbollah to take action against Israel.[68][69][70] Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its four main goals as "Israel's final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration"[71] According to reports released in February 2010, Hezbollah received $400 million from Iran.[69]
Arrow Air Flight 1285 taking off from Gander, Newfoundland, crashes and burns about half a mile from the runway, killing all 256 passengers and crew on board. An anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut claimed that Islamic Jihad destroyed the plane to prove "our ability to strike at the Americans anywhere."[72] An investigation by theCanadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) found that the crash was most likely an accident.[73][74] However, the minority report speculated that the in-flight fire "may have resulted from detonations of undetermined origin".[74]
According to a senior U.S. intelligence officer, the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime MinisterRafic Hariri was carried out by Hezbollah at the direction of Iranian intelligence agents.[66]
Firing of hundreds of rockets into northern Israel on a daily basis and capture of Israeli soldiers in 2006.[75]
Insurgents supported by Iran reportedly committed acts of terrorism.[66][77][78][79] The United States State Department states that weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran's allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American clericMuqtada al-Sadr and hisMahdi army.[80]
During his address to the United States Congress on September 11, 2007, Commanding Officer for the United States forces in Iraq, GeneralDavid Petraeus noted that the multinational forces in Iraq found that Iran's Quds Force had provided training, equipment, funding, and direction to Shi'ite militia groups. “When we captured the leaders of these so-called special groups … and the deputy commander of a Lebanese Hezbollah department that was created to support their efforts in Iraq, we’ve learned a great deal about how Iran has, in fact, supported these elements and how those elements have carried out violent acts against our forces, Iraqi forces and innocent civilians.”[77]
In 2015,Michael Weiss and Michael Pregent accused thePopular Mobilization Units, an organization of 40 mainly-Shi'ite militias (some backed by Iran) of committing extensive atrocities against Sunni civilians in the course of their war against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including "burning people alive in their houses, playing soccer with severed human heads, andethnically cleansing and razing whole villages to the ground." Weiss and Pregent even suggested that "Iran's Shi'ite militias aren't a whole lot better than the Islamic State."[81]
Aggrey Adoli, police chief inKenya's coastal region, said on 22 June 2012 that two Iranians, Ahmad Abolfathi Mohammad and Sayed Mansour Mousavi, believed to be members of Iran'sRevolutionary Guards'Quds Force,[7] were arrested and suspected of being involved in terrorism. One of the Iranians led counter-terrorism officers to recover 15 kilograms of a powdery substance believed to be explosive.[82] The two Iranians allegedly admitted to plotting to attack United States, Israeli, Saudi, or British targets in Kenya.[7] In court, Police Sgt. Erick Opagal, an investigator with Kenya's Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, said that the two Iranians had shipped over 100 kilograms of powerful explosives into Kenya.[83]
It was later revealed that the targets included Gil Haskel, Israel's ambassador to Kenya. During a visit to Kenya in August, Israeli Deputy Foreign MinisterDanny Ayalon praised Kenya for its efforts in stopping Iranian terror threats against Israeli and Jewish targets.Uganda,Ethiopia, and Kenya all expressed concern with Ayalon regarding Iran's attempts to increase terror activity in Africa.[84]
In 2025, Iran's ambassador to the Netherlands was summoned after Dutch intelligence linked Tehran to two assassination attempts in Europe, including a 2024 attack in Haarlem and a 2023 attempt on Spanish politicianAlejo Vidal-Quadras, blaming Iran's use of criminal networks to target regime opponents.[85][86]
According to Doku.nu, two men in Sweden, Mohammad Heidari and Shayan Tousynezhad, are linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and allegedly used false identities to gain asylum. Despite warnings from German authorities and suspicions they planned to target Swedish Jews, they were granted residency and are believed to pose a threat to Swedish security and the Iranian diaspora. Experts warn they may be part of a broader network of Iranian agents operating in Sweden.[87]
On 14 February 2012, a series of explosions occurred inBangkok,Thailand. Thai authorities said that the bombings were a botched attempt by Iranian nationals to assassinate Israeli diplomats. Several Iranians were arrested and charged for the attacks, one of whom was badly injured.
In August 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged an Iranian operative (Shahram Poursafi) with "plotting to assassinate former PresidentDonald Trump's national security advisorJohn Bolton."[9] Poursafi, a member of Iran’sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was charged for "providing and attempting to provide material support to a transnational murder plot".[88][89][90][91] According to reports,Mike Pompeo was also a target,[10] where a bounty of $1 million was placed for his murder.[92]
Masih Alinejad, a journalist and human rights activist, has been a target of Iranian theocracy since fleeing Iran in 2009. In 2021, theFBI intercepted a kidnapping plot against her by Iranian agents who had planned to kidnap her from her New York home. U.S. prosecutors charged an Iranian intelligence officer for the kidnapping plot. In 2022, U.S. police arrested a man who had tried to break into Alinejad’s Brooklyn home while in possession of anAK47.[8][93][94]
TheUnited States State Department has accused Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias of terrorism against U.S. troops, and Iran ofcyberterrorism, primarily through itsQuds Force.[95][96] Recent Iranian state-sponsored activity has included destructive malware and ransomware operations. The Office of theDirector of National Intelligence'sthreat assessment concluded that "Iran’s growing expertise and willingness to conduct aggressive cyber operations make it a major threat to the security of U.S. and allied networks and data. Iran’s opportunistic approach to cyber attacks makes critical infrastructure owners in the United States susceptible to being targeted".[97]
According to several sources, al-Qaeda and Iran allegedly formed an alliance during the 1990s in which Hezbollah trained al-Qaeda operatives.[99] This partnership was initially formed in Sudan.[100] After several meetings facilitated by the Sudanese government in 1992, Iranian officials offered to provide al-Qaeda fighters with tactical training and intelligence co-operation in activities against the Israeli government.[101][102] Iranian government also entered into an agreement with al-Qaeda to supply the organization with financial support, weaponry, and explosives through the involvement of Lebanese Hezbollah group.[103]
During theBosnian War, theIRGC worked alongside theBosnian mujahideen, including several volunteers of al-Qaeda. Between 1992 and 1995, military co-operation between Iranian intelligence agencies and al-Qaeda strengthened, as Iran began sending large amounts of ammunitions, weapon shipments, and supplies to Bosnia throughSudan-based charity organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda.[104][105]
After the September 11 attacks, the Iranian government attempted to suppress information regarding its past relations with al-Qaeda.[106] Iran detained hundreds of al-Qaeda operatives that entered the country following theU.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; even though "the Iranian government has held most of them under house arrest, limited their freedom of movement, and closely monitored their activities," U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Iran has not fully accounted for their whereabouts, culminating in allegations of Iranian complicity in the 2003Riyadh compound bombings.[107][108]
At various time periods between 2001 and 2010, several al-Qaeda leaders, includingSaif Al-Adel,Saad bin Laden,Abu Muhammad al-Masri, and Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, were given asylum in Iran.[109] A UN report published in July 2018 stated that al-Qaeda leaders based in Iran had become "more prominent" within the group, exerting greater influence over the operations of al-Qaeda's networks.[110][111] In August 2020, al-Qaeda leader Abu Muhammad al-Masri and his daughter Miriam were killed by Israeli agents inTehran.[112][113][114] In January 2021,U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo accused Iran of allowing al-Qaeda to establish their base of operations within the country, though they denied the claim.[115]
With thekilling of Ayman al-Zawahiri in July 2022, analysts believed that leadership of al-Qaeda would pass onto Saif al-Adel, who as of then was reportedly still in Iran.[116][117] In February 2023, aUnited Nations Security Council report named Adel as thede-facto leader of al-Qaeda, and that his presence in Iran and issues with open acknowledgement of al-Qaeda activity inTaliban-governedAfghanistan restricted him from being publicly named as leader.[118] Adel's presence in Iran was reconfirmed by the Security Council in a report from 2024, with the United States backing both assessments.[119][120]
On November 8, 2011, Judge John D. Bates stated in a U.S. federal court that Iran was liable for the1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. In his 45-page decision, Judge Bates wrote that "...the government of Iran aided, abetted and conspired with Hezbollah,Osama Bin Laden, and al Qaeda to launch large-scale bombing attacks against the United States by utilizing the sophisticated delivery mechanism of powerful suicide truck bombs. ... Prior to their meetings with Iranian officials and agents Bin Laden and al Qaeda did not possess the technical expertise required to carry out the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam."[121]
In March 2015, U.S. federal judge Rudolph Contreras found both Iran and Sudan complicit in the2000 bombing of the USSCole by al Qaeda, stating that "Iran was directly involved in establishing al-Qaeda's Yemen network and supported training and logistics for Al-Qaeda in the Gulf region" through Hezbollah. Two previous federal judges had ruled that Sudan was liable for its role in the attack, but Contreras's "ruling is the first to find Iran partly responsible for the incident."[122]
The U.S. indictment of bin Laden filed in 1998 stated that al-Qaeda "forged alliances ... with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezbollah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies."[99] On May 31, 2001,Steven Emerson andDaniel Pipes wrote inThe Wall Street Journal that "Officials of the Iranian government helped arrange advanced weapons and explosives training for Al-Qaeda personnel inLebanon where they learned, for example, how to destroy large buildings."[123]
The9/11 Commission Report stated that 8 to 10 of the hijackers on9/11 previously passed through Iran and their travel was facilitated by Iranian border guards.[99][124] The report also found "circumstantial evidence that senior Hezbollah operatives were closely tracking the travel of some of these future muscle hijackers into Iran in November 2000."[124]
Two defectors from Iran's intelligence service testified that Iranian officials had "foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks."[125] By contrast, the 9/11 Commission "found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack. At the time of their travel through Iran, the al Qaeda operatives themselves were probably not aware of the specific details of their future operation." In addition, bothRamzi bin al-Shibh andKhalid Sheikh Mohammed denied "any relationship between the hijackers and Hezbollah" and "any other reason for the hijackers' travel to Iran" besides "taking advantage of the Iranian practice of not stamping Saudi passports."[124]
According to Seth G. Jones andPeter Bergen, the 2003Riyadh compound bombings were planned by al Qaeda operatives in Iran, with apparent support from the Iranian government.[108][126] In May 2003, then-State Department officialRyan Crocker provided information on the upcoming attack to Iranian officials, who apparently took no action.[66]
British journalistAbdel Bari Atwan asserted in 2006 thatAl-Qaeda's Iraq branch regarded Shia civilians as "legitimate targets for acts of violence". During the early Iraqi insurgency,Al-Qaeda in Iraq publicly declared war against the Iran-backedBadr Brigades, a group which was co-operating with the United States during that time.[127]
AWest Point study based on documents uncovered inOsama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad found that the Iran-al Qaeda "relationship is not one of alliance, but of indirect and unpleasant negotiations over the release of detained jihadis and their families, including members ofbin Laden's family." According to longtimeCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) analystBruce Riedel: "Rather than being secretly in bed with each other as some have argued, al Qaeda had a fairly hostile relationship with the Iranian regime. To get members of his family out of Iran, for example, bin Laden had an Iranian diplomat kidnapped and then traded. The Iranians released some of his family members in the deal but then double-crossed al Qaeda by not letting one of his daughters, Fatima, free."[107] Similarly, American journalistSteve Coll asserted that bin Laden "was as paranoid about Iran as he was about the C.I.A. He worried that Iranian doctors might use medical treatment as a pretense to inject his sons with tracking chips."[128]
Iran does not designate theTaliban as a terrorist organization, and theIRGC actively opposed any U.S. presence in Afghanistan.[129] American and British officials have accused Iran in the past of giving weapons and support to theTaliban insurgency.[130][131][132][133] Due to theTaliban takeover of Afghanistan, Iran had to close some of its consulates in that country,[134][135] but kept the embassy open.[136] Unlike the tense relationship between the two sides in the 1990s,[137] Iran competed with Pakistan in giving support to the reestablishedTaliban government.[138][139]
With the fall of Assad regime, Iran's use of Syria as a base for its Axis of Resistance has been significantly disrupted, with Hezbollah withdrawing to Lebanon and Iraqi militias retreating to Iraq following theopposition offensives. Despite these setbacks, Iran-backed groups continue to operate in some parts of Syria.The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria, established by theSyrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), has emerged as a militant organization opposing thenew government,foreign influence, andIsraeli occupation. However, its activities and scale remain very limited compared to Iran’s former proxy network under Assad.
Iran has been heavily involved in Iraq since the2003 invasion that toppledSaddam Hussein from power.[188] Iran has often used Shia militias within Iraq to disrupt American operations,[189] while also directly participating in theinsurgency that followed the invasion.[190][191] Iran mainly funded theMahdi Army, a group led byMuqtada al-Sadr. Iran has also been heavily involved with the founding of thePopular Mobilization Forces and their effort to fight theIslamic State within Iraq, fighting alongside them and the axis of resistance.
In August 2020,U.S. intelligence officials assessed that Iran offered bounties to theTaliban-linkedHaqqani network to kill foreign servicemembers, including Americans, in Afghanistan.[192][193] U.S. intelligence determined that Iran paid bounties to Taliban insurgents for the2019 attack on Bagram airport.[194] According to CNN, Donald Trump's administration has "never mentioned Iran's connection to the bombing, an omission current and former officials said was connected to the broader prioritization of the peace agreement and withdrawal fromAfghanistan."[192]
Iran is known to fund severalPalestinian militant groups, many of them members of theAlliance of Palestinian Forces. These groups, all of them espousingAnti-Zionism, are known to attack Israeli civilians within Israeli territory and are known to useterrorism. Iran itself has also been directly involved in several conflicts against Israel, includingin 2018 and2023.
Along with the above allegations, Iran is also accused of other acts of terrorism. Including:
Mykonos restaurant assassinations. On September 17, 1992,Iranian-Kurdish insurgent leadersSadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi were assassinated at the Mykonos Greek restaurant inBerlin,Germany. In the Mykonos trial, the courts foundKazem Darabi, anIranian national who worked as a grocer in Berlin, andLebanese Abbas Rhayel, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two other Lebanese, Youssef Amin and Mohamed Atris, were convicted of being accessories to murder. In its 10 April 1997 ruling, the court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Hojjat al-IslamAli Fallahian[202] after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of supreme leaderGrand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and presidentAyatollah Rafsanjani.[203]
^Filkins, Dexter (September 30, 2013)."The Shadow Commander".The New Yorker.Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved4 October 2013.From 2000 to 2006, Iran contributed a hundred million dollars a year to Hezbollah. Its fighters are attractive proxies: unlike the Iranians, they speak Arabic, making them better equipped to operate in Syria and elsewhere in the Arab world.
^Fard, Erfan (2021-09-06)."Iran and the Taliban".Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.Archived from the original on 2023-04-21. Retrieved2023-04-21.
^"How Iran Fuels Hamas Terrorism".The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Archived from the original on 2024-02-01. Retrieved2023-05-13.After playing a key role in the group's military development for years and navigating deep ideological rifts, Tehran has renewed its extensive sponsorship in ways that contributed directly to the recent bloodshed in Gaza.
^"US sanctions key leader of Iraqi PMF, Hezbollah Brigades".The Arab Weekly.Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. RetrievedJune 3, 2022.The US State Department says Abu Fadak is working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force to "reshape official Iraqi state security institutions … to instead support Iran's malign activities,"
^Wess, Caleb (February 23, 2018)."Bahraini militant group adopts IRGC branding".Archived from the original on April 1, 2018. RetrievedMay 13, 2023.At the same time, Saraya al Ashtar reaffirmed its loyalty to the Islamic Republic of Iran. "We believe that the commander and ruler of the Islamic religion is the line of the two imams, Khomeini and Khamenei, which is in the original Muhammad approach in confronting the oppressors and fighting back against the tyrants," the group's statement reads.
^"Iranian Support for Taliban Alarms Afghan Officials".Middle East Institute. 9 January 2017.Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved13 May 2023.Both Tehran and the Taliban denied cooperation during the first decade after the US intervention, but the unholy alliance is no longer a secret and the two sides now unapologetically admit and publicize it.
^Al Qedra, Ahmed (May 2022)."Russian foreign policy towards the GCC".Journal of Crises and Political Research.6 (1):41–66.Archived from the original on 2023-05-03. Retrieved2023-05-13 – via dergipark.org.
^Barnard, Anne (July 9, 2013)."Car Bombing Injures Dozens in Hezbollah Section of Beirut".The New York Times.Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. RetrievedAugust 30, 2013.Hezbollah has portrayed the Syrian uprising as an Israeli-backed plot to destroy its alliance with Mr. Assad against Israel.
^"Currently listed entities".Public Safety Canada. Government of Canada. 21 December 2018.Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved2 March 2020.
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