What happened
Hezbollah forms among Lebanese Shia from 1982 with Iranian Revolutionary Guard support, and announces itself publicly in an open letter in February 1985. Israel withdraws in 1985 to a self-declared security zone along the border, held with the South Lebanon Army until 2000.
The armed organisation at the centre of every Israel–Lebanon arrangement since — 1701, the 2024 cessation, the 2025 arms-monopoly decisions and the 2026 framework — and its supply relationship with Iran both originate here. Hezbollah's fifteen-year campaign against the security zone is the basis of the "resistance" claim it uses to justify keeping its arms.
Confidence: High
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