Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) – Pakistan and Iran have attacked each other’s territories in an unprecedented escalation of hostility between the neighbors, at a time when tensions have risen sharply across the Middle East and beyond.
The two countries share a volatile border of about 900 kilometers, with Pakistan’s Balochistan province on one side and Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province on the other.
Both countries have long been fighting militants in the restive Balochistan region along the border. However, although the two countries share a common separatist enemy, it is highly unusual for either side to attack militants on the other’s territory.
The latest attacks come as Iran’s allies and proxies in the Middle East – the so-called axis of resistance – launch attacks against Israeli forces and their allies against the backdrop of the Gaza war.
This is what you should know.
Pakistani security officers inspect the site of an explosion in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, on January 17, 2024. (Credit: Fayyaz Ahmed/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Why were there attacks between Pakistan and Iran?
The opening salvo in this frenetic sequence of events began this Tuesday, when Iran attacked Pakistan’s Balochistan province, killing two children and wounding several others, according to Pakistani authorities.
Iran claimed that it had “only attacked Iranian terrorists on Pakistani soil” and that no Pakistani citizens had been targeted.
But the attack drew the ire of Pakistan, which called the attack a “huge violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.”
Iran’s pro-state Tasnim news agency said the attack targeted strongholds of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, known in Iran as Jaish al-Dhulm, or Army of Justice.
This separatist militant group operates on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border and has already claimed responsibility for attacks against Iranian targets. Its ultimate goal is the independence of the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan is majority Sunni, the dominant branch of Islam, while Iran and its “axis of resistance” are majority Shiite.
Pakistan counterattacked two days later with what it called “a series of highly coordinated and targeted precision military strikes” against several suspected separatist hideouts in Sistan and Balochistan.
Announcing the attacks on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said several militants had been killed. Iranian authorities said at least seven people were killed in a series of explosions: three women and four children.
Pakistan has complained for years that separatist fighters have “safe havens and sanctuaries” in Iran, and was forced to take matters into its own hands with Thursday’s attacks.
Why now?
Pakistan and Iran’s struggle against separatists operating on both sides of their borders is not new.
Deadly clashes have occurred regularly along the turbulent border over the years. Last month, Iran accused Jaish al-Adl militants of raiding a police station in Sistan and Balochistan, resulting in the deaths of 11 Iranian police officers, according to Tasnim.
What is highly unusual, however, is each side’s willingness to attack targets on the other side of those borders, without first informing each other. And all this takes place in the context of the Israeli bombing of Gaza, which has had repercussions throughout the region.
The regional conflict may have encouraged Iran to be more proactive in pursuing objectives beyond its borders, experts say, especially as the United States walks a tightrope between reducing hostilities and deploying its military might to deter the ‘Iran from carrying out new maneuvers.
The day before the attacks in Pakistan, Iran fired ballistic missiles into Iraq and Syria, claiming to be targeting a spy base for Israeli forces and “anti-Iranian terrorist groups.”
Meanwhile, intense fighting continues between Israel and the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah group along the Lebanese border; and the United States is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have attacked ships in the Red Sea in the name of revenge for Israel’s assault on Gaza.
“If Iran and its proxies are not censored, it costs them nothing to continue these activities,” said Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
He added that Iran’s dominant position in the Middle East, unlike conflict-ridden nations such as Yemen and Syria, means it can benefit from regional instability and “fill power vacuums.” And Iran’s activities now serve to advance many of its core goals, including strengthening the Palestinians and countering American influence in the Middle East, he said.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said the various hostilities reflected Iran’s attempt to “consolidate its leadership role in the region.”
“He is seeking regional hegemony,” he told CNN. “And when the United States and Israel are there, and Israel is waging this campaign against Hamas, then Iran feels the need to react and assert itself.”
What causes the border conflict?
The Baluch people live where Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet. They have long displayed a fiercely independent streak and have always resented being ruled by both Islamabad and Tehran, with insurgencies simmering in the porous border region for decades.
The area where they live is also rich in natural resources, but Baloch separatists complain that their people, among the poorest in the region, have just seen wealth pour into their communities.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, has been the scene of a wave of deadly attacks in recent years, fueled by a decades-long insurgency by separatists demanding the country’s independence, angered by what they see as a monopoly and state exploitation of Pakistan’s mineral resources. the region.
Iran has also faced a long history of insurgencies by its Kurdish, Arab and Baloch minorities.
Jaish al-Adl is just one of many separatist groups operating in Iran. It was originally part of a larger Sunni militant group called Jundallah, which fractured after its leader was executed by Iran in 2010, according to the U.S. government’s National Counterterrorism Center. In its place arose Jaish al-Adl, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department.
According to the National Counterterrorism Center, the group frequently attacks Iranian security personnel, government officials and Shiite civilians.
In 2015, the group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed eight Iranian border guards, with militants apparently crossing into Iran from Pakistan. And in 2019 he claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that destroyed a bus carrying members of the Iranian military, killing at least 23 people in Sistan-Baluchestan.
Last Wednesday, a day after Iran’s attacks on Pakistan, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on an Iranian military vehicle in Sistan and Balochistan.
What’s next?
Tuesday’s Iranian attacks sparked a diplomatic row, with Pakistan recalling its ambassador from Iran and suspending all high-level visits by its neighbor. And after Pakistan’s attacks, Iran demanded “an immediate explanation” from its neighbor on Thursday, Tasmin reported.
Neighboring countries spoke out, with India saying it had “zero tolerance towards terrorism” and that the attack was “an issue between Iran and Pakistan”. China urged both nations to show restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions.
On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Washington was working to prevent the Middle East from erupting into large-scale conflict.
“We have seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbors in the last two days,” he said, referring to Pakistan, Iraq and Syria. Asked about the possibility of Pakistan, a former U.S. ally, retaliating against Iran, Miller said: “We hope it’s an issue that can be resolved peacefully.”
Pakistan’s subsequent attack on Iranian soil demonstrates that Pakistan has decided to respond with more than just diplomatic repercussions.
However, it is unclear whether Iran or Pakistan wants to fully engage in hostilities because of the separatist groups they both consider enemies.
Both sides released statements following the respective attacks implying their desire for the situation not to worsen.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called Iran a “brother country” and stressed the need to “find common solutions.”
Iran’s foreign minister echoed this statement, calling Pakistan a “friendly country” earlier in the week and saying its attacks were proportionate and had only targeted militants.
2024-01-18 09:47:00
#Iran #Pakistan #attack #war #Middle #East
