Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denied that militant groups around the region were its Private Proxies Coupon

Iran's supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran's proxies, warning that if his country chose to "take action", it would not need them anyway.

The remarks came after a year in which Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza suffered heavy losses in wars with Israel, and two weeks after the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who had been a key link in Tehran's so-called axis of resistance.

Another spoke of that axis, Yemen's Huthi rebels, have been repeatedly targeted by the United States and Britain over their attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes, launched in solidarity with Palestinians.

"The Islamic Republic does not have a proxy force. Yemen fights because it has faith. Hezbollah fights because the power of faith draws it into the field.