section_path: Government and politics/Regional influence
section_name: Regional influence
paragraph_text: Regional influence
  
  Iran's significant influence and foothold, sometimes characterised as the "Dawn of A New Persian Empire." Some analysts associate the Iranian influence to the nation's proud national legacy, empire and history.
  
  Since the Revolution, Iran has grown its influence across and beyond the region. It has built military forces with a wide network of state and none-state actors, starting with Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982. The IRGC has been key to Iranian influence, through its Quds Force. The instability in Lebanon (from the 1980s), Iraq (from 2003) and Yemen (from 2014) has allowed Iran to build strong alliances and footholds beyond its borders. Iran has a prominent influence in the social services, education, economy and politics of Lebanon, and Lebanon provides Iran access to the Mediterranean Sea. Hezbollah's strategic successes against Israel, such as its symbolic victory during the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War, elevated Iran's influence in the Levant and strengthened its appeal across the Muslim World.
  
  Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the arrival of ISIS in the mid-2010s, Iran has financed and trained militia groups in Iraq. Since the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s and the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iran has shaped Iraq's politics. Following Iraq's struggle against ISIS in 2014, companies linked to the IRGC such as Khatam al-Anbiya, started to build roads, power plants, hotels and businesses in Iraq, creating an economic corridor worth around $9 billion before COVID-19. This is expected to grow to $20 billion.
  
  During Yemen's civil war, Iran provided military support to the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite movement fighting Yemen's Sunni government since 2004. They gained significant power in recent years. Iran has considerable influence in Afghanistan and Pakistan through militant groups such as Liwa Fatemiyoun and Liwa Zainebiyoun.
  
  In Syria, Iran has supported President Bashar al-Assad; the two countries are long-standing allies. Iran has provided significant military and economic support to Assad's government, so has a considerable foothold in Syria. Iran has long supported the anti-Israel fronts in North Africa in countries like Algeria and Tunisia, embracing Hamas in part to help undermine the popularity of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Iran's support of Hamas emerged more clearly in later years. According to US intelligence, Iran does not have full control over these state and non-state groups.