Two children were killed by an apparent missile attack from Iran that was directed towards militant facilities in western Pakistan, according to officials in Islamabad.
The operation was directed towards the militant organization Jaish al-Adli, which was referred to as a “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan by Tehran’s foreign minister.
The attack took place in Balochistan and follows earlier this week’s attacks by Iran on targets in Syria and Iraq.
According to Pakistani officials, three children were hurt and two children died. The attack was deemed “illegal” by Islamabad, which also threatened “serious consequences”.
Speaking in Davos, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian emphasized that only Jaish al-Adl members had been targeted, not any Pakistani nationals.
Mr. Amir-Abdollahian stated, “We only targeted Iranian terrorists on Pakistani soil.”
He continued by saying that he had “assured him that we do respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and Iraq” after speaking with his colleague from Pakistan.
The most recent airstrike coincides with rising tensions in the Middle East as Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas are engaged in a battle in Gaza.
Tehran claims it has no desire to become embroiled in a larger battle. But in an effort to demonstrate their support for the Palestinians, factions within the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which also includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi militants in Yemen, and other groups in Syria and Iraq, have been attacking Israel and its allies. Following their attack on commercial vessels, the Houthis have been targeted by airstrikes from the US and UK.
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China called for “restraint” and “avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension” from Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday. Spokesman for the foreign ministry Mao Ning continued, saying Beijing considered the nations to be “close neighbors.”
Iran appears determined to avenge those it believes to be responsible for the recent deadly strikes on its territory, possibly motivated by resentment.
Iran is eager to project power and show its own people that acts of violence would not go unpunished during a period of elevated regional tensions.
A community in the sizable border province of Balochistan in Pakistan’s southwest was affected by the attack on Tuesday. Tehran declared that it was going after Jaish al-Adl, also known as the “army of justice,” an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim organization that has attacked both Pakistani government forces and Iranian citizens.
Jaish al-Adl attacked a police station in Rask, a town near the Pakistani border, in December of last year.
Two weeks ago, at a ceremony in Kerman honoring the US death of Iran’s infamous Revolutionary Guard general, Qasem Soleimani, two bombs killed eighty-four people, making it the worst domestic attack Iran has experienced since the Islamic Revolution.
Iran launched ballistic missiles at northern Iraq under Kurdish authority and Syria on Monday. Iran declared that it was going after the Islamic State and the Israeli intelligence organization Mossad, both of which it claimed were complicit in the Kerman attacks.
The structure in the northern city of Irbil was struck by the strike on Iraq. Six civilians were injured and four victims died in the attack, according to local authorities. The US denounced the assault.
Iran then launched an attack on the Idlib region in northwest Syria, which is home to 2.9 million displaced people and is the only resistance stronghold left in the nation.
However, striking Pakistan, its nuclear-armed neighbor to the east, would be a significant step up. The attack occurred “despite the existence of several channels of communication” between the countries, according to Pakistan, which voiced outrage over the incident.
Islamabad announced on Wednesday that it had summoned its Iranian envoy and that the ambassador would not be permitted to return to Iran at this time.
Iran and Pakistan maintain a friendly but cautious relationship. This strike occurred on the same day that the foreign ministers of Iran and Pakistan met in Davos and that the fleets of Iran and Pakistan conducted joint military exercises in the Gulf.
However, for years, both have accused one another of providing support to terrorist organizations that attack the other in their respective border regions.
The security on both sides of their roughly 900 km (559 mi) common border has long been a source of concern for both governments.
It is estimated that the Iranian strike struck Sabz Koh village approximately 45 km from the Iranian border and 90 miles from the closest town, Panjgur. According to local officials, it is a thinly populated region where livestock-owning Baloch tribes live and where there is a high rate of smuggling of products, drugs, and firearms.
According to security analyst Zaigham Khan, “people on both sides of the border consider themselves to be deprived of basic necessities, face discrimination, and demand a larger share from their own resources,” as reported by the BBC.
While Baloch separatist groups are still waging an insurgent campaign against the Pakistani government, the Sunni Muslim Baloch minority in Iran is complaining of discrimination in the Shia Muslim-majority state.
Based in Sistan-Baluchestan, Jaish al-Adl is the “most active and influential” Sunni militant organization, according to the US Director of National Intelligence’s office. Both Washington and Tehran have labeled it as a terrorist organization.
It “would take a while to calm down but this is also something that Pakistan would not like to escalate,” Aamir Rana, another Pakistani security analyst, told the BBC.
“But now the ball is in Iran’s court, whether it wants to get its act right,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s previous lack of response to Iran’s moves near the border.
