Iran's Supreme Leader said on Sunday that Iran does not need proxies if it decides to take direct military action, rejecting claims that groups like Hezbollah and Hamas operate under Tehran's command.

"They keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxies in the region. This is another falsehood. The Islamic Republic does not have proxies. Yemen is fighting because of its faith. Hezbollah fights because its faith-driven power brings it to the battlefield. Hamas and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs make them to do so. They do not act as our proxies. If we ever decide to act, we do not need proxies,” Khamenei said addressing a group of eulogists at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Hussainiya.

Khamenei’s remarks come on the backdrop of significant losses by Iran-backed armed groups across the region over the past year. In September, a precision Israeli strike in Beirut killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several senior commanders.

Israeli military sources estimate that around 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since October 2023, while Reuters reports the figure could be as high as 4,000.
Meanwhile, Hamas has also faced significant challenges in Gaza. Over a year of Israeli bombardment has caused severe damage to the group’s infrastructure, reportedly killing more than 17,000 operatives since last year’s offensive began, according to Israeli military sources.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was the latest serious blow to Tehran’s regional influence.

Israel launched a large-scale air attack against Iran in October, devastating its air defenses and several military installations without encountering any serious defense or retaliation.