Hezbollah is a Shi'a Islamist political party and paramilitary organization in Lebanon.
Hezbollah may also refer to:
Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist militant group and political party. Its paramilitary wing, the Jihad Council, is widely considered the most powerful armed force in Lebanon. The group receives substantial financial and military backing from Iran, positioning itself as the leading member of the "Axis of Resistance", an alliance in opposition to Israel and Western influence in the Middle East.
Kurdish Hezbollah or Hizbullah, is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist militant organization, active against Turkey, and the PKK. It is derogatorily known by its critics as Hizbulkontra, Hizbulvahşet, and Hizbulşeytan. They are also derogatorily known as Sofik, which is a diminutive of "Sofu", which means "devout" or "practicing".
Ansar-e Hezbollah is a conservative paramilitary organization in Iran. According to the Columbia World Dictionary of Islamism, it is a "semi-official quasi-clandestine organization of a paramilitary character that performs vigilante duties".
The Quds Force is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Force as an organization analogous to a combination of the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the United States. Responsible for extraterritorial operations, the Quds Force supports non-state actors in many countries, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthi movement, and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. According to Michael Wigginton et al., the Al-Quds Force is "a classic example of state-sponsored terrorism."
Hezbollah Al-Hejaz, or Hizbollah in the Hijaz, is a militant Shia organization operating in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in May 1987 in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. In the years 1987–89 the party launched attacks against official Saudi targets inside and outside Saudi Arabia. After being implicated in the Khobar Towers Bombing in 1996, the party was outlawed in Saudi Arabia. The party was part of the Iranian government's "exporting the Islamic revolution" policy. Most of its members were arrested and the party practically ceased to exist. In 2014 it was designated a terrorist organization by the kingdom's government.
Hezbollah originated within the Shiite block of Lebanese society. According to the CIA World Factbook estimate in 2022, Shiites comprise 31.2 percent of Lebanon's population, predominating in three areas of Lebanon: Southern Lebanon, Beirut and its environs (Dahieh), and the northern Beqaa valley region.
The Shia Crescent is the notionally crescent-shaped region of the Middle East where the majority population is Shia or where there is a strong Shia minority in the population.
Ansar, Al Ansar, or Al-Ansar may refer to:
Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political and militant group based in Lebanon, is driven by an ideology that combines religious, political, and social elements. Founded in the early 1980s, Hezbollah's ideology is deeply rooted in Shia Islam and influenced by the Iranian Revolution. Central to its ideology is opposition to Western influence and Israeli occupation, which it frames as a struggle for justice and liberation, while also positioning Islam as a comprehensive solution to social and political issues. Hezbollah's ideological framework is articulated through its foundational documents, such as the 1985 "Open Letter" and the 2009 "New Manifesto," which emphasize themes of anti-Zionism, anti-Americanism, and the establishment of an Islamic state governed by Sharia. The movement also advocates for pan-Islamism and pan-Arabism, promoting unity among Muslims and Arabs while supporting Iran as a model of sovereignty.
Hezbollah has a Foreign Relations Unit and maintains relations with a number of foreign countries and entities. These are particularly Shia states, but also Sunni groups like those affiliated with the Palestinian cause; and the group is also suggested to have operations outside the Middle East in places such as Latin America and North Korea.
Subhi al-Tufayli is a Lebanese senior Shi'ite cleric and politician who founded the Hezbollah militant group in 1982 and was its first secretary-general from 1989 until 1991. From a comparatively young age, Tufayli achieved popular following amongst Lebanese Shi'ite community, who viewed him as the most learned Shi'ite scholar in the Beqaa Valley.
Special Groups (SGs) is a designation given by the United States military to the cell-based Shi'a paramilitary organizations operating within Iraq, According to the United States these groups are funded, trained, and armed by the Iranian Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network, is a radical Iraqi Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary organization active in the Iraqi insurgency and Syrian Civil War. During the Iraq War it was known as Iraq's largest "Special Group", and it is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Brigades, cooperating with the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.
The Axis of Resistance is a network of Iranian-backed militias and political groups in the Middle East, formed by Iran by uniting and grooming armed groups that are dedicated to confront the influence of United States and Israel in the Middle East, and shares hostility toward the countries. The U.S. designates most of these groups as terrorist organizations.
Liwa Fatemiyoun, literally "Fatimid Banner", also known as Fatemiyoun Division or Fatemiyoun Brigade, is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government. The group's officially designated purpose, is the defense of the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, and to fight "takfiri terrorists" in Syria, which would come to include the Islamic State (IS). It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. Both the Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian government downplay their relationship with one another, despite clear coordination and the brigade's operation under the auspices of the IRGC. Liwa Fatemiyoun is also closely associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, officially the 12th Brigade, is a radical Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the IRGC's Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members.
The Followers of Zainab Brigade, also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War. It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.
Hezbollah Afghanistan is a Shia Islamist political party in Afghanistan. It was originally founded in 1980 as a rebel group and part of the Tehran Eight, and fought with Iranian support during Soviet–Afghan War. In 2005, it became a legal party, and in the 2010s it developed close connections with Liwa Fatemiyoun, an Afghan paramilitary force organized by Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a key patron of the Lebanese Shia Islamist militia and political party Hezbollah.