The term was used by the Libyan daily newspaperAl-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 Palestinianminister 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: The phrase was used again on August 2012 during a meeting between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, regarding the Syrian Civil War. He said: The Syrian state-run news agency, SANA, has stated that the two governments discussed their "strategic cooperation relationship" and "attempts by some Western countries and their allies to strike at the axis of resistance by targeting Syria and supporting terrorism there." The alliance has been described as an "Axis of Terror" by the prime minister and ambassadors of Israel.
Background
At first, the alliance consisted of the Syrian government and Lebanese Hezbollah. Years later Iran, already closely aligned with Syria and Hezbollah, would form stronger relations between the three, creating the axis. Iraqi and Yemeni militants coordinating with Iran came in as the newest members of this alliance. After the beginning of Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War, a slew of posters showing images of Nasrallah, Assad, Khamenei, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have appeared with an Arabic caption meaning "Men who bow to no one but God." The posters suggest another emerging regional Axis of Resistance, according to The Hill.
Analysis
The axis has "reshaped the strategic balance in the Middle East" and according to Marisa Sullivan, it has two main pillars; shared regional objectives and shared support. The current ruling minority of Syria is primarily made up of Alawites, who are a sect of Shia Islam, which is also the majority religion of Iran. This common background has made them strategic allies on various issues, including defense. The Sunni Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has also at times been considered part of the axis due to its opposition to Israel and the United States. However, as of March 2012, the group has since pulled its headquarters out of Damascus and thrown its support behind the anti-Assad Syrian opposition.
Iran–Syria
According to Jubin Goodarzi, an assistant professor and researcher at Webster University, the Iranian–Syrian alliance that was formed in 1979 is of great importance to the emergence and continuity of the axis of resistance. Both countries are in key locations of the Middle East, and they have been affecting Middle Eastern politics during the past three decades. Also, the alliance is considered to be an enduring one, lasting 34 years "in spite of the many challenges that it has faced and periodic strains in the relationship".
Axis of resistance vs. Israel
The axis claims to be against Israel in order to shore up popular support across the Islamic world, according to Tallha Abdulrazaq writing in the Middle East Monitor, and it took a severe blow after Israeli Mazraat Amal air strike. Three days before that air strike against Hizbollah convoy, Hizbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah said: "...we consider that any strike against Syria is a strike against the whole of the resistance axis, not just against Syria."
Axis of resistance vs. ISIL
Hezbollah rejects the idea of Lebanon helping in the U.S led intervention in Iraq arguing that it may lead to the U.S domination in the region or "substituting terrorism with flagrant US occupation".
