Iran’s Gray Zone and Hybrid Operations: Strategic Development and Regional Impacts

Gémesi, Géza (2025) Iran’s Gray Zone and Hybrid Operations: Strategic Development and Regional Impacts. HADTUDOMÁNYI SZEMLE, 18 (3). pp. 5-17. ISSN 2676-9816

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Abstract

The aim of this essay is to provide an overview of the development of Iran’s hybrid warfare methods and its regional strategic objectives. Iran is continuously refining its toolkit in asymmetric and gray zone operations. The publication analyses the role of proxy organisations such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, operations in cyberspace, as well as the modernisation of the Iranian military and the development of offensive capabilities, which pose a threat to regional stability. This includes a focus on Iran’s presence in Syria and Iraq, and the escalation patterns of its conflicts with Israel and the United States, Israeli airstrikes, Iranian countermeasures, the military exercises of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the tensions surrounding the nuclear agreement. The presentation details the evolution of Iran’s operational model, which integrates both asymmetric and conventional means. The study underlying this presentation illustrates how Iran combines various forms of warfare to strengthen its regional position and achieve its geopolitical objectives, and to demonstrate the effectivity of the methods in reaching Iran’s strategic goals.

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