Iran’s foreign minister called on the militant groups it backs in the Middle East to rebuild, in a sign Tehran may be determined to restore regional military influence eroded by Israel in a 15-month conflict.
“The resistance has gone through a difficult and significant period; it must rebuild itself, rebuild its forces, and apply the lessons learned from this war," Abbas Araghchi told a news conference at a Gaza-related event in Tehran on Tuesday.
“We are confident that the resistance will return to the field stronger than before.”
His remarks come as Gaza faces widespread devastation following Israel’s military response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Israeli bombardments and ground operations have left much of the enclave in ruins, with tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced.
A long-sought ceasefire-for-hostages deal was brokered on January 15 after intense negotiations in Doha, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.
Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The armed cadres and military infrastructure of group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Britain, have been pummeled by a devastating Israeli incursion into the enclave.
Araghchi said that so-called resistance groups must adapt now that the conflict in Gaza is paused. The array of Islamist armed factions in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen have long been funded and armed by Tehran.
Israel decapitated the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon and helped bring about the downfall of the Assad dynasty in Syria, Iran's oldest Arab ally.
Still, Araghchi said Israel had been defeated in the conflict and described the ceasefire as tenuous.
"Some think that this regime, due to this feeling (of defeat), may take action and violate the ceasefire, which is not unlikely given the nature of the criminal Zionist regime."
“The resistance movement is a school of thought and ideology that cannot be eliminated with weapons,” Araghchi added. “Its main weapon is not conventional arms; it is the blood of the martyrs.”
