Pakistan Launches Retaliatory Missile Strikes Into Iran

Posted by: Eninu William in World news January 18, 2024

Pakistan has launched retaliatory missile strikes into Iran, reportedly killing seven people. It should be noted that Iran carried out strikes in Pakistan late on Tuesday. Pakistani officials said their strikes had hit “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province. Three women and four children were killed, Iran state TV said.

The reciprocal air strikes come as tensions in the Middle East are high with several overlapping crises. Israel is fighting the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. It’s also exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria are targeting US forces.

Then the US and UK have struck the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, who have been attacking shipping.

Pakistan and Iran have long accused each other of harbouring militant groups that carry out attacks from regions along their shared border. On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed its strikes, which Iranian media said took place around the city of Saravan.

Pakistani officials said they had acted in light of “credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities” and said many “terrorists” were killed. It added that it “fully respects” Iran’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”. However, its action on Thursday was “a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats”.

Pakistan had fiercely condemned Iran’s strike on Tuesday, which struck an area of Pakistan’s Balochistan province near the Iranian border. Islamabad said the strike killed two children.

Iran insisted its strikes were aimed only at Jaish al-Adl, an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim group. This they say has carried out attacks inside Iran, and not Pakistan’s citizens.

Earlier in the week Iran also attacked targets in Iraq and Syria. It said it had hit Islamic State and Israel’s Mossad spy agency, both of whom it said had been involved in a bomb attack in the Iranian city of Kerman earlier this month which killed 84 people.

China, a strong ally of both nations, has called for both sides to show restraint and avoid an escalation. Analysts say Iran’s strikes this week were also driven by the current turbulent dynamics in the Middle East.

Tehran has said it does not want to get involved in a wider conflict. However, groups that it backs have been ramping up efforts to target Israel and its allies to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

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