Hezbollah- foreign relations

Hezbollah is most commonly known as being an enemy of Israel and the United States, while being supported by Pakistan and Iran. Although most nations do not list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, 4 do: The US, Israel, Canada, and the Netherlands. On the contrary, Hezbollah’s ties with Iran are very strong, as well as its relationship with Syria. Without the support of Syria and Iran, Hezbollah would not have risen as fast as it did, and probably would not be as strong as it is today. Although Hezbollah, as a large part of Lebanon’s political operations, deals with many countries, these 4 (US, Israel, Syria, Iran) are the closest in contact with the group.
Iran has not kept its relationship with Hezbollah a secret. Both countries are extremely opposed to Israel, so they have a natural common interest which ties them extremely close to one another. Iran and Hezbollah have a long history of being allies, and many of Hezbollah’s followers are Iranian extremists. According to the Jamestown Foundation, “Iran uses Hezbollah as an instrument to pressure foreign elements that represent a national security threat, while giving Tehran plausible deniability.” Therefore, Iran’s support of Hezbollah strengthens it against the U.S. and Israel; countries they see as a threat to themselves. Both Iran and Hezbollah are violently opposed to peace with Israel. Iran has also trained many members of Hezbollah militarily. They provide Hezbollah with weapons and are partially responsible for some of the terrorist attacks Hezbollah has committed.
Hezbollah also has very close ties with Syria. Syria supported Hezbollah during the years 1990-2005, leading it to become a prominent political group in Lebanon. However, there have been times where Syria and Hezbollah have had lots of problems and clashed. For example, in 1987, Hezbollah kidnapped a ABC correspondent, which angered Syria, who beat Hezbollah troops over the matter. Syria had a great deal of control over Lebanon until they were kicked out in 2005, which both strengthens the ties between the two countries, but also has brewed some tension. Recently, however, the relationship between the two has been warm, which worries the U.S. and Israel. Although Syria may not agree with the Lebanese government all the time, they do continue to support Hezbollah. Militarily, Syria has provided Hezbollah with missiles and arms.
Hezbollah’s foundation is based on a hatred for Israel. Naturally, Hezbollah has come into military contract with Israel many times, and the situation is not getting much better. Hezbollah was formed in 1982 as a response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. In 1985, Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon, but there is still fighting between the two countries. In 2006, a war occurred that some refer to as Israel’s “second Lebanon war”. This fight between Israel and Hezbollah forces killed over a thousand people. The fighting lasted months, until the UN helped to negotiate a cease fire. Still, the tension between Israel and Hezbollah cannot be denied.
The U.S., Britain, and other members of the U.N. have recently made moves towards negotiating with Hezbollah. President Obama met with British officials and has given his support in Britain starting to talk to Hezbollah again. They had allied with the U.S. and stopped all relations with Hezbollah years ago, but are now shifting their ways and trying to rebuild a relationship. This has been controversial, though; even though Obama supports Britain’s new relationship with Hezbollah, some US officials disagree and thing the whole organization should be treated as a terrorist faction and not negotiated with. The U.S. policy towards Hezbollah though, is “it is funded and supported by Iran, is responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in the Middle East and has authority over the social welfare network of hospitals and schools for Lebanon’s Shiite community.”(Britain article) One of the main concerns the U.S. has with Hezbollah is its close ties with Iran. The U.S. has even said Hezbollah may be harder to contain than Al Quaeda because of its ties with Iran; Hezbollah has an entire country supporting it, which makes the U.S. even wearier of its powers.
Overall, Hezbollah is seen as an ally of Iran and Syria, while a distinct enemy of Israel and the US. Talks with Britain have started again, but there seems to be no end in sight for its conflict with Israel.