- Iran launches Airtsrikes on Paskitan
Iran has confessed launching a missile and drone attack on western Pakistan on Tuesday.
According to officials in Islamabad, the attack in Balochistan killed two children and injured three more.
Iran’s foreign minister stated that the operation targeted the militant group Jaish al-Adli, which he referred to as a “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan.
As a result, the Pakistani government recalled its ambassador to Iran and prevented Tehran’s representative from returning.
Iran launched attacks on targets in Iraq and Syria earlier this week, preceding the Balochistan attack.
Islamabad condemned the attack as “illegal” and warned of “serious consequences”.
Speaking in Davos, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that no Pakistani citizens had been targeted, only members of Jaish al-Adl.
“We only targeted Iranian terrorists in Pakistan,” Mr Amir-Abdollahian claimed.
He stated that he spoke with his Pakistani counterpart and “assured him that we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and Iraq.”
The new air strike comes at a time when tensions in the Middle East are rising, with Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas at war in Gaza.
Tehran said it does not want to become engaged in a larger conflict. However, factions in its so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Houthi militants in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and other groups in Syria and Iraq, have launched strikes on Israel and its allies in sympathy with the Palestinians. The US and UK started air strikes on the Houthis after they assaulted commercial vessels.
China advised Pakistan and Iran to exercise “restraint” and “avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension” on Wednesday. Mao Ning, a foreign ministry official, added that Beijing considered the countries as “close neighbours.”
Perhaps wounded by recent deadly strikes on its own soil, Iran is determined to wreak retribution on those it believes are responsible.
At a time of rising regional tensions, Iran is eager to project power and signal to its own people that acts of violence would not be tolerated.
