All roads seem to lead to Iran right now. The White House attributes the attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq—a coalition of militias said to be backed by Tehran. Iran also is known to support Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, both of whom have played a role in worsening the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. And, of course, Iran backs Hamas, which started the latest round of fighting with its attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
The White House has already said it will retaliate against Iran—or its proxies—for causing the first U.S. deaths under fire since Oct. 7. But how? As Republican lawmakers put pressure on President Joe Biden to attack Tehran directly, what do we know of Iran’s real relations with a hazy network of militias across the Middle East, and how might an American response lead in turn to further counterattacks? For answers and an expert assessment, FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke with Vali Nasr, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and former advisor on Iran and the Middle East to several U.S. administrations; and Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.
Video clips from this event
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Vali Nasr explains what the axis of resistance controlled by Iran looks like and the independent sets of interests of each group.
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Sanam Vakil explains how Tehran is thinking about the various proxy groups and how they have become more diverse and decentralized over the years.
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Nasr explains how anti-imperialist sentiment is baked into the worldview of the various Iranian proxies in the Middle East and how the war in Gaza has given them new life.
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Watch to find out how this Iran expert thinks U.S. President Joe Biden might choose to respond to the attack on U.S. troops by Iranian-backed groups over the weekend in Jordan.
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Nasr on the stability of the regime in Iran and how Tehran might react to a U.S. retaliation or strike.
