In the nearly 25 years since the ascent of an Islamic regime, Iran has become one of the most prominent supporters of terror worldwide. Today Iran actively employs terror to achieve its international objectives. The Axis of Evil outlines the operations and goals of Shiite and Iranian terror. As Shaul Shay shows, Iran has done its utmost to conceal its involvement in terror activities and avoids leaving incriminating "fingerprints" that might prompt retaliatory action by victims of this terrorism. In consequence, most of what we know about Iranian terror activity has been gleaned from the capture and trials of Iranian terrorists or terrorists acting on Iran's behalf. The Axis of Evil deals extensively with Iran's involvement in terrorist activity against Israel through Hizballah after the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from Lebanon (May 2000) and the instigation of the Al-Aksa Intifada (September 2000-2003). It examines Iran's attitude towards the State of Israel since the rise of Knomeini, confirming that Iran sees Israel as a primary source of the world's wrongdoings and the epitome of evil. In turn, Israel has become one of Iran's archenemies. Over the years, Iran has strengthened its ideological links with radical Arab and Palestinian circles. In addition, it actively supports Hizballah, which acts on behalf of Iran from its base in Lebanon and perpetrates terror attacks against Israel and against representatives of Western and Arab countries in Lebanon as well as in the international arena. This book is a comprehensive and in-depth study of Shiite and Iranian terror activity. In addition to drawing attention to the significance of Iran's contributions to terror, it provides readers with a better understanding of Iran's activities in light of the global war against terrorism as well as the deployment of American troops along Iran's borders with Afghanistan and Iraq.
