Axis of Resistance

The term Axis of Resistance (Persian: محور مقاومت‎‎) (also Resistance and Deterrence Axis) commonly refers to a anti-Western and anti-Israelialliance between Iran, Syria, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. This Iran-led alliance aims to oppose Western, namely United States and Israel, interests in the region.

The term was used by the Libyan daily newspaper Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar in response to American president George W. Bush's claim that Iran, Iraq and North Korea formed an "axis of evil." In an article titled "Axis of evil or axis of resistance," the paper wrote in 2002 that "the only common denominator among Iran, Iraq and North Korea is their resistance to US hegemony." The Iranian newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami subsequently adopted the language in reference to the Shia insurgency in Iraq, writing in 2004 that "if the line of Iraq's Shi'is needs to be linked, united and consolidated, this unity should be realized on the axis of resistance and struggle against the occupiers."

In 2006 the Palestinian minister of the interior, Said Saim, used the term during an interview an Al-Alam television to refer to common political goals among Arabs in opposition to those of Israel or the United States. Noting the large number of Palestinian refugees in Syria, Saim stated, "Syria is also an Islamic Arab country and is also targeted by the Americans and the Zionists. Hence we see in Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas an axis of resistance in front of these pressures."

The term "axis of resistance" was used as early as August 2010,. After two years, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior advisor for foreign affairs to Iran’s supreme leader, used the term and said:

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