BEIRUT: The war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah has devastated swathes of Lebanon, though a partial de-escalation agreement announced on Monday has averted renewed airstrikes on the capital Beirut for now.
Israel seeks to end the threat posed by Hezbollah rocket fire and force the group to disarm but Iran wants an end to the Israeli campaign in Lebanon as part of any settlement with the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
WHAT ARE HEZBOLLAH’S ORIGINS?
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards founded Hezbollah in 1982 during Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, part of Tehran’s effort to export its 1979 Islamic Revolution and fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon in 1982.
Hezbollah runs its own social services, including schools and hospitals, and has solid backing among Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims.
