Hezbollah is a Lebanese Islamist paramilitary organization, founded in June 1982 and later also became a political party of Shiite Islamist in Lebanon. Hezbollah was born as an armed wing during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, thanks to the effort of Iran to aggregate groups of Lebanese Shiite militants in a unified organization.
The current secretary general is Hassan Nasrallah, who succeeded in 1992 after the elimination of his predecessor Abbas Al-Musawi by Israel. Thanks to Iranian support, the strength of the paramilitary wing of Hezbollah has grown to such an extent that it is now considered the most powerful of the regular Lebanese army.
Inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini, the first actions of the organization were about thirty suicide attacks, but in a few years, in 1985, Hezbollah organized itself with political principles and objectives. In a short time, the organization replaced the State, carrying out state activities such as taxation, security and even providing basic services to the inhabitants of those areas where the militia was most present, quickly taking the form of "a State within a State".
Since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah has focused its attention on Lebanon’s internal politics. It then followed Iran’s orders in Syria during the civil war. Since 2009, the party has participated in the Lebanese political elections and is the second party representing the Shiite community, after Amal. Today, Hezbollah is the predominant political actor and the main destabilizing force in the country.
