How Iran’s ‘unity of fronts’ strategy is changing across the Middle East

Shafaq News

Iran’s “unity of fronts” strategy is being reshaped across the Middle East as allied armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere adapt to changing military and political conditions, while maintaining varying degrees of coordination and a shared strategic outlook.

The concept, also known as “unity of the arenas,” gained wider public prominence in the Palestinian arena in 2022 before expanding into a broader regional framework linking Iran-aligned actors across Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, particularly after the events of October 7, 2023.

Following the completion of the withdrawal of US forces and the US-led Coalition from Iraq on September 30, 2026, “unity of fronts” appears to be entering a new phase. The concept has not disappeared for all Iraqi factions, but its methods are being reshaped in response to changing power dynamics and the challenges ahead.

Read more: Iraq's second US troop withdrawal shifts the test to armed factions

The US withdrawal has not ended the debate over weapons or resolved divisions between factions that have declared their readiness to operate within state institutions and others that continue to reject giving up their independent military capabilities.

Unity Through Different Means

The region is entering a complex phase as the war between the US and Iran, which began on February 28, 2026, continues. Given its geographical position and ties with both Tehran and Washington, Iraq faces the challenge of avoiding direct involvement in the war while preserving its regional relationships and political and security interests.

Lebanese writer and political analyst Ali Alaaeddine said coordination among the fronts “remains in place,” pointing to continued communication among Iran, Iraqi factions, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Yemen’s Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Alaaeddine added that recent military developments had necessitated “a different tactic,” with each front managing its confrontation according to its own circumstances and assessments while maintaining a shared strategic objective.

For Alaaeddine, differences in the level of involvement across the fronts do not signal the end of the concept, but rather its adaptation to changing conditions.

Reshaping the Fronts

In Iraq, the departure of US forces has not resolved the issue of armed factions. Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Ansarallah al-Awfiya have declared their commitment to the government’s vision, while Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba continue to reject the same course.

Read more: Iraq's armed factions sit at the center of a Middle East war, experts say

Security expert Saif Raad told Shafaq News that developments on other fronts, particularly in Lebanon, had prompted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to reconsider its operational and military methods. He described a shift away from reliance on large formations toward smaller groups linked directly to IRGC leadership figures and operating with greater independence from established factions, attributing the change to developments on the Lebanese front during the 40-day war and the events that followed.

Raad said the varying levels of Iranian support across the region could be understood in light of this shift. Iran sought to avoid being drawn into a prolonged war of attrition, he explained, and might therefore turn to supporting smaller groups operating within a structure that preserves the concept of “unity of fronts,” but through methods different from those used previously.

According to Raad, this shift gives Iraq particular importance in Iran’s emerging strategic vision because of the country’s geographical position, political significance, and ties with Tehran.

Since October 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), an umbrella group of Iran-aligned Iraqi armed factions, has claimed responsibility for repeated drone and rocket attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria, initially citing Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza and the presence of American forces in the region.

The group later expanded its operations to Israeli targets, announcing drone and missile strikes on sites in the Golan Heights, northern and southern Israel, and areas including Haifa and Tel Aviv. The attacks intensified during the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon in 2024, as the factions framed their operations as support for Palestinians and Lebanese fighters.

This campaign prompted US retaliatory strikes against Iran-aligned faction positions in Iraq and Syria, while Baghdad sought to contain the escalation and prevent Iraq from being drawn further into regional conflicts.

Read more: Arms and ballots: Iraq's armed factions test constitutional boundaries

Keeping Iraq Out of the Conflict

Political researcher Suhad al-Shammari offers a different perspective, focusing on the Iraqi state’s position.

In an interview with Shafaq News, al-Shammari said Iraq “is not a party to the ongoing war between Iran and the United States,” adding that the government, with the support of political forces, was working to prevent the regional conflict from affecting Iraq’s security and economy.

“Iraq has paid a heavy economic and security price in recent years,” al-Shammari said, warning that disruptions to oil exports or threats to vital infrastructure could create additional crises that Baghdad does not need at this stage.

Read more: Iraq factions resist disarmament as coalition exit nears

Al-Shammari indicated that Iraqi factions will not become direct parties to the confrontation for now, citing “domestic political understandings and a government commitment to preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a launchpad for attacks.”

She argued that the departure of US forces had changed Iraq’s political and security environment and could open the way for a new phase in which the prime minister, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, becomes the main decision-maker on security matters. This shift could be supported by political forces that believe Iraq’s interests lie in avoiding becoming an arena for regional conflict.

Yemen’s Perspective

In Yemen, Adel Rajeh, a member of the Alliance of Parties Against Aggression, described “unity of fronts” as remaining in place at both the political and military levels, with coordination continuing among Iran, Iraqi factions, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

Rajeh distinguished this regional framework from the nature of the current conflict in Yemen. He said the ongoing confrontation there was domestic in character, with Houthi military capabilities addressing local adversaries and mobilizations linked to Saudi Arabia independently.

Read more: Iraq's Sovereignty Days: Coalition mission ends, factions keep their weapons

This does not mean “unity of fronts” has ended, but rather that each front operates according to its own circumstances, he said, concluding that direct US or Israeli involvement in a future confrontation with Yemen could lead to a wider application of the concept, potentially involving Iraqi factions and Iran.

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.