Aman Nawaz:
According to Iranian state media, the US Consulate in Irbil, northern Iraq came under fire this evening and Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility. It is just the latest in a series of attacks by Iranian and Iran-backed militias across the region since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and Israel launched its response in Gaza.
Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israel Defense Forces launched bombing attacks, while the Houthis in Yemen fired rockets at Israel and continued to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
For more information on Iran's goals and influence, we now turn to Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
So, Karim, before we get into the details of some of these groups and their relationship with Iran, let's ask ourselves more broadly: What is Iran's goal? What is the strategy here when using these proxy militias?
Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: That's an important question, Amna.
I would argue that since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, there have been very few governments in the world that have pursued a clearer and more consistent overall strategy over the last four or five decades.
And this strategy essentially consists of three pillars. First, Iran is seeking to expel the United States from the Middle East. Second, they want to replace Israel with Palestine. And third, they want to help defeat the US-led world order.
Therefore, I would argue that Iran and all its regional proxies share these three goals.