How drones transformed Iran's relationships with its proxies
Drone production, technology transfer and training have enabled Iran's regional allies to operate with far greater independence. Has this network become too resilient to be
Drone production, technology transfer and training have enabled Iran's regional allies to operate with far greater independence. Has this network become too resilient to be dismantled through military strikes? When the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February, they hoped to cripple both the Islamic Republic and its so-called Axis of Resistance in the Middle East. This comprises Iran's paramilitary proxy groups, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, all of whom are opposed to the US and Israel. The assumption was that "by hitting the right leaders, weapons facilities and supply lines, an outside actor could induce catastrophic failure across the Iranian regime and its web of Middle Eastern allies," said Peter Salisbury, a fellow at US think tank Century International and lead author of the think tank's recently published report "Beyond the Axis." Despite the US and Israel achieving many of those military objectives, Iranian forces were able to continue launching drone attacks on neighboring Gulf states and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while their allies in Lebanon and Yemen intensified attacks against Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Drones are very cheap to build in comparison to the costly Patriot missile systems Image: Sebastian Apel/U.S. Department of Defense/AP Photo/picture alliance Operational autonomy For Wolf-Christian Paes, associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and one of the contributors to the "Beyond the Axis" report, the term "proxies" is actually misleading as it implies a command-and-control relationship between Tehran and the members of the axis. "Unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] proliferation is a good example," he told DW. A few years ago, Tehran transferred complete systems and the necessary training to its allies.
"Today these militias can build their own UAVs, based on Iranian designs, with most of the parts coming from countries other than Iran," Paes said. For example, according to the report, which was published after two years of research, these groups are able to source large quantities of engines for the Shahed-136 drone directly from Chinese manufacturers. "Dual-use technology is difficult to control in the first place and without a traditional hub for smuggling, tracking the supply chain is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Paes told DW, adding that for example China, Russia but also Oman have so far made no real attempts to control the movement of these items. According to the "Beyond the Axis" report, drone-related conflict incidents around the world rose from 140 in 2016 to more than 58,000 in 2025, a 41,000% increase. Yemen's Houthis have repeatedly attacked international shipping in the Red Sea and Israel with drones and missiles Image: Khaled Abdullah/REUTERS Regional ties with Iran changing "The growing ability of Iran's partners to manufacture and deploy drones independently is also changing the nature of their relationship with Tehran," Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at the UK-based think tank Chatham House, told DW. In his view, the Houthi militia in Yemen illustrates this trend. The group now possesses a level of operational autonomy that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. "Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah helped establish the foundations of the Houthis' drone and missile programs, while years of conflict and isolation compelled them to develop domestic production capabilities," he told DW. During the two-year war in Gaza from 2023 to 2025, the Houthis attacked Israel as well as international shipping in the Red Sea with drones and missiles in what they said was a bid to show support for Palestinians in Gaza.
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