"After the Strike: The Future of Tehran's Proxies" with David Daoud

Description

For decades, Iran’s network of proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others, formed a formidable "Axis of Resistance," projecting Tehran’s influence across the Middle East. Yet, Israel’s 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and IRGC leadership, followed by devastating retaliatory campaigns, have left these groups reeling. From Hezbollah’s decimation in Lebanon to Hamas’s weakened grip in Gaza, Iran’s once-mighty proxies face an uncertain future. How did Iran’s strategy of proxy warfare shape the region’s conflicts? What do these setbacks mean for Tehran’s regional ambitions, its proxies’ survival, and the shifting balance of power?

David Daoud is a senior fellow at FDD focused on Lebanon and Hezbollah. He previously worked as a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, director of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), and a research analyst at FDD. David also has experience working as a staff member on Capitol Hill providing analysis on matters related to the Middle East, Israel, and Iran. His work has been cited or published in outlets including Haaretz, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. David holds a JD with a concentration in International Law and the Laws of Armed Conflict from Suffolk University in Boston.