Is Hezbollah less dangerous to the United States? (Daniel L. Byman, Brookings)

Get terrorism analysts around a bar (always a disturbing scene) and ask them which group is most formidable, and you’re likely to get a surprising answer. It’s not the Islamic State, or even al-Qaida and its various affiliates. Rather, it’s the Lebanese Hezbollah, often darkly praised as the “A-Team” of terrorist groups, and the regularly trumpeted threat the group poses.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/10/18/is-hezbollah-less-dangerous-to-the-united-states/

Iran and Hezbollah Avoid Blaming Israel for Terrorist Commander’s Death (David Daoud, Amir Toumaj, The National Interest)

Mustafa Badreddine, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations in Syria, was recently killed in an explosion near Damascus International Airport. Although the assassination bears some signatures of an Israeli operation, the Shiite militia has blamed Sunni jihadists. Bogged down in Syria, Hezbollah and its Iranian patron have every reason to downplay Israeli responsibility, thereby lifting pressure to retaliate in kind and risk a war with the Jewish state

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/iran-hezbollah-avoid-blaming-israel-terrorist-commanders-16346

How has the Syrian civil war affected Hezbollah, and what should the U.S. do? (Ian Merritt, Brookings)

The media focus on the Islamic State has taken the spotlight off another powerful Middle East rebel and terrorist group that also controls territory and acts like a state: Lebanese Hezbollah. In recent testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Dan Byman, a senior fellow and director of research in the Center for Middle East Policy, described the ongoing transformation of Hezbollah—particularly since it entered the Syrian civil war—and the implications for the region and the United States.

Continue reading here ...

Ian Merritt. Research Assistant, Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy

Saudi Arabia turns up the heat on Hezbollah (Bruce Riedel, Brookings)

The Saudis have initiated a major campaign to undermine Iran's ally Hezbollah, which they believe is vulnerable today. Riyadh is likely to have considerable but not complete success. It's a characteristically risky strategy.

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2016/03/29-saudi-arabia-hezbollah-riedel

Hezbollah’s role in 9/11 ‘goes under the radar’ (Khalaf Ahmad al-Habtoor, Al Arabiya)

Iran’s proxy in Lebanon Hezbollah works hard to promote itself as the Lebanese resistance against Israeli encroachment and as a political organization representing all Lebanese citizens. In reality, it is anything but. It began life as an Iranian arm on the Mediterranean operating under the pretence of standing against Israel to justify its terrorist activities against Arab and Western interests.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/03/18/Hezbollah-s-role-in-9-11-goes-under-the-radar-.html

Hezbollah’s psychological warfare with Israel (Yossi Mekelberg, Al Arabiya)

Nearly a decade has elapsed since Israel and the Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement, clashed directly in the battlefield. The two have established an uneasy, though credible deterrence with one another. They keep their animosity just short of an all-out war, confining it to vitriolic verbal attacks and restricted targeted military operations that do not force either of sides to escalate the situation into a full force conflict.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/03/02/Hezbollah-s-psychological-warfare-with-Israel.html

A company called Hezbollah! (Abdulrahman al-Rashed, Al Arabiya)

To understand why Hezbollah has expanded beyond Lebanon into Syria and Yemen, we have to look at it as a limited-liability company that provides services to its owner, the Iranian regime. The party reportedly receives $900 million annually from Tehran. In return, Hezbollah undertakes multiple tasks.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2016/03/01/A-company-called-Hezbollah.html