Iran–Israel proxy conflict

Iran–Israel proxy conflict
	Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war
	; Israel (orange) and Iran (green) shown within the Middle East
Date	16 February 1985 – present; (41 years, 3 weeks and 5 days)
Location	Various (primarily Middle East)
Status	Ongoing: Iran reinforces Ba'athist Syria and Hezbollah; Israel tries to prevent weapon transfers to Hezbollah; 2006 Lebanon War ends in military stalemate and Israeli withdrawal; Beginning of the ongoing Gaza–Israel conflict in June 2006; Israel tries to stop the Iranian nuclear program; Iran grows major spheres of influence in the Middle East through its Axis of Resistance; Formation of the Arab–Israeli alliance; Iran provides munitions to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip; Escalation to a direct conflict between the two countries in 2024, 2025, and 2026;
Belligerents
Iran; Proxies: Hezbollah ; Hamas (2006–2011; 2017–present) ; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (2013–present) ; Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) ; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP–GC) (2013–present) ; Sabireen Movement (until 2019) ; Houthis ; Popular Mobilization Units ; Islamic Resistance in Iraq ; PKK (1982–1992) ; Liwa Fatemiyoun ; Husseiniyoun ; Liwa Zainebiyoun ; Al-Ashtar Brigades ;	Israel; Proxies: South Lebanon Army (until 2000) ; Fursan al-Joulan (2013–19) ; Popular Forces of Palestine (2024–present) ;
Commanders and leaders
Ali Khamenei X; (Supreme Leader of Iran, 1989–2026); Masoud Pezeshkian (WIA); (President of Iran, 2024–present); Mohammad Mokhber (briefly in 2024); Ebrahim Raisi; (2021–2024); Hassan Rouhani; (2013–2021); Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; (2005–2013); Naim Qassem; (Secretary-General of Hezbollah, 2024–present); Hassan Nasrallah X; (Secretary-General of Hezbollah, 1992–2024); Yahya Sinwar †; (Hamas leader, August–October 2024); Ismail Haniyeh X; (Hamas leader, 2017–2024); Khaled Mashal; (Hamas leader, 1996–2017); Ahmad Sa'adat (POW); (PFLP Leader); Ziyad al-Nakhalah; (PIJ Leader)	Benjamin Netanyahu ; (Prime Minister of Israel, 1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present); Ehud Barak ; (1999–2001); Ariel Sharon ; (2001–2006); Ehud Olmert ; (2006–2009); Naftali Bennett ; (2021–2022); Yair Lapid ; (2022); Ghassan Duhine (WIA) (Leader of the Popular Forces, 2025–present) ; Yasser Abu Shabab † ; (Leader of the Popular Forces, 2023–2025) ; Antoine Lahad ; (Leader of the South Lebanon Army until 2000)

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a proxy conflict since 1985. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria, assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists, and directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria. In 2024 the proxy war escalated to a series of direct confrontations between the two countries, and in June 2025, they fought a 12-day war, involving the United States.

Motivated by the periphery doctrine, Imperial Iran and Israel had close relations, seeing Arab powers as a common threat. After the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran cut off relations, but covert ties continued during the subsequent Iran–Iraq War. Iran trained and armed Hezbollah to resist the Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and continued to back Shia militias throughout the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. Even before 1979, Iranian Islamists had materially supported the Palestinians; after 1979 Iran attempted relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and later with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Israel fought a war with Hezbollah in 2006. Israel has fought several wars with Palestinians in and around the Gaza Strip: in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, 2021 and since 2023. The 1982 Lebanon War and Gaza war have been the deadliest wars of the Arab–Israeli conflict.

Various reasons have been given for the Iran–Israel conflict. Iran and Israel had previously enjoyed warm ties due to common threats, but by the 1990s the USSR had dissolved and Iraq had been weakened. Iranian Islamists have long championed the Palestinian people, whom they perceive as oppressed. Scholars believe that by supporting the Palestinians, Iran seeks greater acceptance among Sunnis and Arabs, both of whom dominate the Middle East. At times, Iran has supported the one-state and the two-state solution as a response to the plight of Palestinians, while the country has also used more inflammatory language to predict Israel's demise. Israel sees Iran as an existential threat. Israel has accused Iran of harboring genocidal intentions, while Iran has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza. Consequently, Israel has sought sanctions and military action against Iran to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons. News outlets expressed how Iranian proxy militias stayed largely silent and left Iran "isolated in war" during the 2025 war with Israel.