00:00So what of Tehran's network of proxy groups?
00:04Dubbed as the Axis of Resistance, these Iran-backed militia forces are in reality more fractured
00:10and less of a formidable force than previously.
00:13After a series of attacks in recent years by Israeli forces, Iran is largely fighting
00:19alone against the combined might of the Washington and Tel Aviv forces.
00:25In the aftermath of devastating joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian military installations,
00:31nuclear facilities and leadership targets, Tehran's proxy militias issued fiery vows of
00:37retaliation from the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Qaytab Hezbollah in Iraq, a
00:44united signal of readiness to strike back against US and Israeli targets amid an existential threat
00:51to the Iranian regime.
00:53But as the Islamic Republic was ruptured following the deaths of key figures, none more significant
01:00than the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the proxy groups still sit largely still.
01:07Talking the talk but not walking the walk, pre-strike bluster and posturing but faced with
01:13a joint American epic fury and Israeli lion's roar operations.
01:18Iran's proxies are yet to act decisively and the threat of a wider regional war is clear.
01:25Now, that does not mean that these groups won't jump into action in the coming hours and days.
01:31But who are these proxy groups and are they in a position to strike against the US and Israel?
01:37Hezbollah in Lebanon are by far the strongest of the proxy militias operating in West Asia.
01:44That, despite strong efforts from the Israeli defence forces to dismantle the group, both before and after a
01:51ceasefire was agreed with Israel in November 2024.
01:55After officials warned of a red line if the Supreme Leader Khamenei was attacked,
01:59Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vowed to confront the US and Israel.
02:04The group's leader said, and I quote,
02:07we will undertake our duty of confronting the aggression, adding that they would not leave
02:12what he called the field of honour and resistance.
02:16Israel has warned Hezbollah against any action and has carried out operations in southern Lebanon,
02:22striking what they refer to as Hezbollah infrastructure.
02:25In Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis have said they will resume attacks on the Red Sea shipping corridor.
02:31Strikes on the group from both the US and Israel came after similar attacks from within Yemen,
02:37which hit the global economy.
02:40Further missile and drone assaults on shipping will add further strain on global trade,
02:45with 30% of all international container traffic passing through the waters annually.
02:50Then there is Hamas.
02:52Following a long conflict with Israeli forces in Gaza, Hamas has been decimated.
02:58Once a meaningful force in the region, the Iran-backed group is now not in a position
03:03to launch any major attack on the US or Israeli forces.
03:08But where does it leave the Gaza ceasefire?
03:11Trump's Board of Peace have looked to move towards the next phase of the agreement,
03:15but now the wider regional situation has changed.
03:19Power doesn't end quietly.
03:23Some deaths are not accidents.
03:26They are messages.
03:28A gunshot.
03:30A crowd.
03:32A country frozen.
03:34The killer disappears.
03:36The questions don't.
03:38This is not just about who died.
03:41It's about what followed.
03:44Governments fell.
03:45Armies moved.
03:47History rewrote itself.
03:50Five leaders.
03:51Five moments.
03:54One pattern.
03:56The assassination.
04:08One pattern.
04:09One pattern.
04:11One pattern.
04:13One pattern.
04:14Has he choked in here?
04:14One pattern.
04:20Two pattern.
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