--- title: "Iran Has Been Abandoned. Here's Why." description: "Iran’s proxy empire is crumbling. As war with Israel escalates, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are silent—or shattered. Here’s why Iran’s decades-long strategy just collapsed when it mattered most. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly! Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. 📩 Subscribe now: https://subscribepage.io/WarFrontsWeekly Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels: Megaprojects:https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@astrographics-ve4yq PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@homefronts Simon's Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Laying the Groundwork 04:58 Recent Devastation 08:08 Sitting on the Sidelines 10:40 A Failure of Strategy References https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/09/iran-israel-hamas-hizbollah-houthis-gaza-geopolitics-middle-east/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/12/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-war.html https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/palestine-hamas-military-power https://www.newsweek.com/what-we-know-about-hamas-huge-rocket-arsenal-1839746 https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/how-hamas-built-army https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/05/hamas-tunnels-weapons-gaza-war-october-7-attacks/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-proxy-irans-growing-footprint-middle-east https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2019/10/irans-proxies-are-more-powerful-than-ever.html https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-path-forward-on-iran-and-its-proxy-forces/ https://www.cfr.org/article/irans-regional-armed-network https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/middleeast/hezbollah-weapons-visuals-intl-dg https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/07/analysis-a-greatly-expanded-arsenal-means-this-is-not-the-hezbollah-of-2006.php https://www.nytimes.com/article/hezbollah-military-capability.html https://irregularwarfare.org/articles/assad-fall-iran-irregular-warfare/ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/irans-islamist-proxies https://apnews.com/article/iran-mideast-proxy-forces-syria-analysis-c853bf613a6d6af7f6aa99b2e60984f8 https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/05/07/the-fall-of-bashar-al-assad-winners-losers-and-challenges-ahead/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-assad-regime-falls-what-happens-now/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2025/06/17/why-assads-fall-made-israels-large-scale-air-war-with-iran-possible/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/trump-yemen-bombings-killed-civilians-us-attacks-analysis https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/unprecedented-civilian-death-toll-yemen-us-air-strikes-says-report https://www.euronews.com/2025/06/10/israeli-navy-attacks-yemens-houthi-held-hodeida-port-in-first-direct-strikes-from-sea https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7050j07gedo https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/world/middleeast/houthi-militants-civilians-us-israel.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/world/middleeast/syria-sectarian-fighting-druse.html https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxyr4lvd01o https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-two-projectiles-crossed-syria-towards-israel-2025-06-03/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v52241eyvo https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/23/israeli-airstrikes-south-lebanon-elections-hezbollah https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-beirut-strikes-drones-29f76821e6a61884f270dcd482d789e0 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-government-criticism-israel-use-air-space-attack-iran https://www.newsweek.com/hamas-sends-warning-us-over-iran-attack-2087202 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthi-official-says-group-will-intervene-support-iran-against-israel-2025-06-17/ https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-target-israel-with-ballistic-missiles-coordination-with-iran-2025-06-15/ https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraqs-kataib-hezbollah-warns-us-against-intervening-israel-iran-conflict-2025-06-15/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/world/middleeast/lebanon-israel-iran-war-hezbollah.html https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-iran-aoun-salam-b4e37d2635d862d05b55df84e6f416aa https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1935376346164965630" url: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-phytxzcwblc.md canonical: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-phytxzcwblc/ datePublished: 2025-06-19T16:45:06.000Z dateModified: 2025-06-19T16:45:06.000Z author: - name: Fronts Staff url: https://fronts.co/authors/fronts-team/ publisher: Fronts type: NewsArticle language: en access: members isAccessibleForFree: false tokens: 1189 --- Iran’s proxy empire is crumbling. As war with Israel escalates, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are silent—or shattered. Here’s why Iran’s decades-long strategy just collapsed when it mattered most. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly! Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. 📩 Subscribe now: https://subscribepage.io/WarFrontsWeekly Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels: Megaprojects:https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@astrographics-ve4yq PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@homefronts Simon's Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ 00:00 Introduction 01:08 Laying the Groundwork 04:58 Recent Devastation 08:08 Sitting on the Sidelines 10:40 A Failure of Strategy References https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/09/iran-israel-hamas-hizbollah-houthis-gaza-geopolitics-middle-east/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/12/world/middleeast/hamas-israel-war.html https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/palestine-hamas-military-power https://www.newsweek.com/what-we-know-about-hamas-huge-rocket-arsenal-1839746 https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/how-hamas-built-army https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/05/hamas-tunnels-weapons-gaza-war-october-7-attacks/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-proxy-irans-growing-footprint-middle-east https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2019/10/irans-proxies-are-more-powerful-than-ever.html https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-path-forward-on-iran-and-its-proxy-forces/ https://www.cfr.org/article/irans-regional-armed-network https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/middleeast/hezbollah-weapons-visuals-intl-dg https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/07/analysis-a-greatly-expanded-arsenal-means-this-is-not-the-hezbollah-of-2006.php https://www.nytimes.com/article/hezbollah-military-capability.html https://irregularwarfare.org/articles/assad-fall-iran-irregular-warfare/ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/irans-islamist-proxies https://apnews.com/article/iran-mideast-proxy-forces-syria-analysis-c853bf613a6d6af7f6aa99b2e60984f8 https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/05/07/the-fall-of-bashar-al-assad-winners-losers-and-challenges-ahead/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-assad-regime-falls-what-happens-now/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2025/06/17/why-assads-fall-made-israels-large-scale-air-war-with-iran-possible/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/18/trump-yemen-bombings-killed-civilians-us-attacks-analysis https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/unprecedented-civilian-death-toll-yemen-us-air-strikes-says-report https://www.euronews.com/2025/06/10/israeli-navy-attacks-yemens-houthi-held-hodeida-port-in-first-direct-strikes-from-sea https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7050j07gedo https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/world/middleeast/houthi-militants-civilians-us-israel.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/world/middleeast/syria-sectarian-fighting-druse.html https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxyr4lvd01o https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-says-two-projectiles-crossed-syria-towards-israel-2025-06-03/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v52241eyvo https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/23/israeli-airstrikes-south-lebanon-elections-hezbollah https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-beirut-strikes-drones-29f76821e6a61884f270dcd482d789e0 https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-government-criticism-israel-use-air-space-attack-iran https://www.newsweek.com/hamas-sends-warning-us-over-iran-attack-2087202 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/houthi-official-says-group-will-intervene-support-iran-against-israel-2025-06-17/ https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-target-israel-with-ballistic-missiles-coordination-with-iran-2025-06-15/ https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraqs-kataib-hezbollah-warns-us-against-intervening-israel-iran-conflict-2025-06-15/ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/world/middleeast/lebanon-israel-iran-war-hezbollah.html https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-iran-aoun-salam-b4e37d2635d862d05b55df84e6f416aa https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1935376346164965630 --- Full analysis is behind the paywall. Read the gated piece at https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-phytxzcwblc/.