Iran is targeted by Pakistani retaliatory strikes.
Following attacks by Iran late on Tuesday, Pakistan launched retaliatory missile strikes into Iran, which are reported to have killed seven people.
According to Pakistan, the strikes struck “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, killing three women and four children, according to Iran state TV.
The reciprocal airstrikes coincide with heightened tensions in the Middle East due to multiple overlapping crises: Israel is battling Hamas in Gaza and exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon; groups in Iraq and Syria are targeting US forces; the US and UK have struck the Houthis in Yemen, who have been attacking shipping.
Iran and Pakistan have long accused one another of providing sanctuary to terrorist organisations that launch strikes from areas close to their shared border.
The strikes, which were reported by Iranian media to have occurred near Saravan, were verified by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday.
Numerous “terrorists” were reportedly killed, according to Pakistan, which claimed to have taken action based on “credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities”.
It went on to say that while it “fully respects” Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Pakistan’s move on Thursday was “a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats.”
Pakistan had strongly denounced Iran’s attack on Tuesday, which it claimed killed two children and targeted a region of Pakistan’s Balochistan province close to the Iranian border.
Iran maintained that its bombings were not directed towards the people of Pakistan, but rather at Jaish al-Adl, an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim group that has carried out attacks inside Iran.
Iran stated earlier in the week that it had struck the Islamic State and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, both of which it said were responsible for an earlier this month bombing in the Iranian city of Kerman that claimed the lives of 84 people.
Iran had also attacked targets in Syria and Iraq.
According to analysts, Pakistan’s response was expected and resembled Iran’s in that it was portrayed as a targeted assault on rebels.
“The possibility of an escalation is increased by Pakistan’s reply, but it also offers a chance to retreat from the edge. “The Wilson Center’s South Asia director, Michael Kugelman, stated that the two sides are effectively at par right now.
With Iran now on the attack throughout the region, using proxies and direct assaults to lash out at adversaries and dangers, Islamabad has every reason to want to regain deterrence.
Pakistan would have run the risk of further strikes if it had refrained.” China, a powerful ally of both countries, has urged moderation and prevented an escalation on both fronts.
According to analysts, the volatile dynamics now present in the Middle East also played a role in Iran’s strikes this week.