On Tuesday, Iran launched attacks and targeted alleged Sunni militant bases in Pakistan, potentially further increasing tensions in the conflict in the Middle East.
Iran struck two bases of the Jaysh al-Dhulm militant group in Pakistan's mountainous southwestern Balochistan region.
According to The Guardian, Iran reported that the strikes occurred in the mountains of Pakistan's Balochistan province. Confusion followed the announcement from Iran as state media reports on it soon disappeared. However, Iran's attack on nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran puts diplomatic relations between the two countries in jeopardy, which have long considered each other with suspicion.
Tehran launched strikes on Syria and Iraq in response to a dual suicide bombing of the Sunni extremist organization Islamic State, which killed more than 90 people.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency and state television said that drones and missiles were used in the strikes in Pakistan to target the Jaish al-Adl militant group. Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television, blamed the attack on Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Jaish al-Adl, also known as the "Army of Justice," is a Sunni militant organization founded in 2012 that primarily functions in Pakistan across the border. The militants have claimed bombings and abducted Iranian border police in the past.
According to two security officials in Pakistan, Iranian strikes damaged a mosque in Baluchistan's Panjgur district, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) inside Pakistan from the Iranian border. The officials were not authorized to speak with journalists, so they only talked on the condition of anonymity.
The attack happened after Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Baluchistan has faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists later initiated an insurrection for independence but initially wanted a portion of provincial resources.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry Speaks Out
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes and said, "Pakistan strongly condemns the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran, which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls."
Pakistan declared that terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. It added that such unilateral acts do not conform with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.
Iran has long suspected Pakistan of harboring rebels, potentially at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia. However, tensions decreased in March last year when Iran and Saudi Arabia achieved an agreement mediated by China.
Furthermore, Pakistani security forces have been the target of strikes by militants entering from Iran. In April 2023, four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the Baluchistan province by a militant strike coming from the Iranian border.
Related Article : US Condemns Iran's 'Reckless' Missile Attack in Iraq's Erbil
