Lebanon's powerful Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, whose men are fighting alongside Syrian troops to recapture a strategic town from rebels, is a key client of Iran and an ardent ally of the Damascus regime.
Hezbollah (Party of God) was founded in 1982 in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon. It rapidly spearheaded the anti-Israeli guerrilla campaign and was the key actor in forcing the Jewish state to finally withdraw in 2000.
That success, coupled with the party's extensive network of social services, has gained it enormous support among Lebanon's Shiites, who represent about a third of the country's population.
Its militia, blacklisted by a number of Western countries as a terrorist organisation, had never disarmed at the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war on the grounds it was necessary to protect the country against Israeli attacks.
It is widely viewed as more powerful than Lebanon's army. And with its formidable security and intelligence apparatus, Hezbollah is able to wield extensive influence on politics, if not actually dominate them.
Hezbollah is known abroad primarily for its military arm, but it is a genuine political party and is represented in parliament. It and its allies hold cabinet posts, and they are able to effectively veto any policy or legislation not to their liking.
Although Hezbollah initially sought to impose an Islamic way of life in Lebanon, it has since toned down its rhetoric and claims to seek to live in unity with all the Lebanese.
The party drew its inspiration from the 1979 Islamic revolution in predominantly Shiite Iran, and has long been the recipient of financial and military backing from Tehran.
Much of the weaponry has been funnelled to it by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including thousands of missiles.
Those weapons played a key role in a second event that raised Hezbollah's popularity in Lebanon and the wider Arab world -- the 2006 war against Israel.
Hezbollah guerrillas carried out a daring cross-border raid, capturing two soldiers. Israel retaliated with a fierce air and land assault on Lebanon that devastated much of the Shiite-majority south and parts of Beirut itself.
But rocked by hundreds of Hezbollah's missiles and stymied by a fierce resistance on the ground, Israel never managed to vanquish the movement, and the party emerged even stronger.
Intelligence officials now estimate Hezbollah has amassed an arsenal of more than 40,000 short- and long-range rockets the party claims can reach deep inside Israel, as well as anti-aircraft guns and other sophisticated weaponry.
In 2008, things started to sour.
During clashes with supporters of key Sunni politician Saad Hariri, Hezbollah fighters seized control of a section of western Beirut, sparking fears of a new civil war.
The party, and its Syrian allies, were already suspected of having been behind the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, Rafiq, and four of its members were eventually indicted by a UN-backed tribunal.
And party leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened in 2010 to "cut off the hand" of anyone who attempted to arrest them, and they remain at large.
The charismatic Nasrallah took over as secretary general in 1992 after his predecessor, Abbas Mussawi, was assassinated in an Israeli missile strike.
He acknowledged for the first time on April 30 that his troops were involved in fighting in the Syrian border region of Qusayr, which they are aiding Assad's troops in attempting to recapture.
He warned in a speech that the "friends of Syria," a reference to Hezbollah and to Iran, will not allow the fall of Assad.
And last week, he promised "victory" in Syria, saying "we will continue along the road... bear the responsibilities and the sacrifices."
And that promise can be backed up by action.
Lebanese University professor Waddah Sharara, an expert on Hezbollah, said its militia has around 20,000 fighters, including 5,000 trained by Iran in urban warfare.
Syria's opposition has denounced Nasrallah's remarks as a "threat".
And the chief of the rebel Free Syrian Army warned on Tuesday that Hezbollah had 24 hours to stop its "aggression on Syrian" territory or its people would be hunted down, "even in hell".
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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130529/hezbollah-powerful-pro-syria-force-armed-iran