after the ISIS threat there is now also the Shiite one –

Francesca Musacchio

April 15, 2024

After Iran’s attack on Israel, the Arab world and terrorist groups linked to Islamic fundamentalism are under special observation. From Iranian proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis, Fath al Islam and Hamas itself), retaliation against Israeli targets in the world could come. According to some analysts, in fact, the action carried out by Tehran could strengthen the “axis of resistance”, that is, the alliance between the Shiite militias of the Middle Eastern region led by Iran who have joined Hamas’ war against Israel since 7 October . According to a recent ISPI dossier, «from a geopolitical point of view, Iran can count on a constellation of allies and armed proxies whose objectives have so far not been separated from those of Tehran». In the Middle East, the network of armed groups supported by Iran today is more extensive and diversified than in the 2000s. And in Italy, where the security alert has been at its highest level since 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel , we work to increase preventive activity and reduce the risk on sensitive objectives. In fact, the meeting of the Order and Security Committee called by the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who yesterday on X announced: «Great attention for the situation in the Middle East following the Iranian attacks against the State of Israel. I am in contact with the prefects of the Italian cities and I have convened, tomorrow (ed today) at the Interior Ministry, a committee with the leaders of the Police Forces and intelligence to take stock of the situation. The alert on sensitive targets is maximum.”

Among the risks that are currently worrying European chancelleries and beyond, in fact, is that Iran’s action could open a new season of terrorism linked to groups such as Hezbollah, Fath al Islam and Hamas which, through offshoots present in the West, reach to strike Israeli targets outside the Jewish state. And it wouldn’t be the first time. In 1992 and then 1994, two attacks were carried out in Buenos Aires against Israeli targets, both attributed to Hezbollah and Iran. Argentina, in fact, hosts one of the largest Jewish communities in the world and in those years the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the offices of the Argentine Israelite Mutuality Association (AMIA) were hit respectively. Added to all this is the threat of Isis and al Qaeda, who have been fighting the infidels for years and are certainly not linked to Tehran. Indeed, in January Isis claimed responsibility for the attack carried out on the tomb of Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, which occurred during the commemoration of the fourth anniversary of the death of the general killed in 2020 near Baghdad airport with a US drone attack. But the divisions (or presumed such) between the Sunni and Shiite Arab world do not stop terrorism which, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East caused by Hamas, has found new strength especially among the groups that side with the Palestinian cause in an anti-Western way .

Now, Iran’s attack against Israel, although an act that did not cause damage, opens up new scenarios not only in the region but also beyond the borders of the countries involved. And the reactions of some countries came from the Arab world following the launch of missiles and drones from Tehran towards Israel. If Jordan, in the night between Saturday and Sunday, openly sided with Israel, participating together with France, Great Britain and the United States in the defense to shoot down drones and missiles arriving from Tehran, at the moment, from other Arab states, attacks have arrived positions that express concern and invite the parties to stop the escalation, but not the clear condemnation of Iran. From Egypt to Saudi Arabia, passing through Iraq, Qatar and Turkey, the request is the same: to prevent the conflict from spreading. But with some nuances. While the Iraqi president, Abdel Latif Rashid reiterated “the need to stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip and to find a solution to the Palestinian issue given that this is a fundamental element for the stability of the region”, Turkey made it known that he spoke with Tehran to communicate that “he does not want a new escalation in the region”.