Iran has long used armed conflict along its borders to combat militant groups; however, Iran’s use of missiles and drones against militant bases in Pakistan’s Sistan-Balochistan province represents an unprecedented step. Tehran says they targeted bases belonging to Jaish al-Adl, an active Sunni separatist group responsible for attacks against Iranian border patrols.
China, which regards both countries as strategic allies, urged Iran and Pakistan to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that escalate tensions.
Missiles & Drones
Iran is using its missile and drone capabilities – considered vital to regional influence by Iran – as part of an effort to exert regional dominance. By exercising them, Iran signals its intent to escalate tensions with its neighbors following Hamas’ deadly attack inside Israel in October.
Iran says its airstrikes in Pakistan were targeted at “terrorist bases” in Baluchistan’s southwestern province. Mehr, its semi-official news agency, reported Iranian forces clashing with terrorists at an outpost near the border near an outpost near which militants sought to carry out sabotage and bomb Iranian targets, according to Iran’s Ministry of Defence.
News websites affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that two bases belonging to Sunni Baluchi militant group Jaish al-Adl had been hit by missiles and drones fired by Pakistan. Pakistan blamed these attacks on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and summoned its ambassador from Tehran as punishment for what it saw as “unprovoked and flagrant violation of sovereignty”. China counts both countries among its strategic allies, and encouraged both to exercise restraint to avoid actions which might escalate tensions further.
Targets
Iran claims it used missiles and drones to destroy two bases for Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan’s Koh-e-Sabz region of Baluchistan province, raising risks of wider conflict in an already volatile area exacerbated by Israel’s conflict against Hamas in Gaza.
Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, is a militant group operating mainly along Iran’s border with Pakistan that has claimed bomb attacks against Iranian security forces. While Tehran has long fought this group on its borders, conducting missile and drone attacks inside Pakistan would be unprecedented for it.
These attacks came days after Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards conducted strikes in northern Syria and Iraq against what Iran called anti-Iran terrorist groups, according to China. Beijing called upon both nations as strategic allies “exercise restraint, avoid any actions which escalate tensions further and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the region.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Amirabdollahian met with Pakistan Caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar at Davos economic forum where both men discussed terrorism; neither could publicly elaborate what exactly they discussed at length during their meeting.
Casualties
After striking against targets in Syria and Iraq, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps expanded their missile attacks into Pakistani territory. According to state media reports, Iranian missiles and drones struck two strongholds of Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group active on both sides of the border which claims responsibility for attacks against Iran while demanding independence for Sistan and Baluchistan province.
Pakistan strongly condemned the attack as an unprovoked violation of its sovereignty that could have serious repercussions. They summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to express their strong condemnation and request an explanation.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missiles and drones reportedly destroyed two bases belonging to separatist groups in Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province’s Koh-e-Sabz district, according to Tasnim news agency. Local officials reported civilian deaths and injuries, including two children; Peshraw Dizayee a prominent Kurdish businessman was reported killed alongside his 11-month-old daughter at his own home.
Retaliation
Iran demonstrated its regional military power this week by firing missiles against two separate countries within one day, showing its increasing dominance. Iran will likely not react recklessly as many observers have warned, instead targeting threats which endanger its interests with targeted responses.
Pakistan strongly condemned the strikes as an unprovoked violation of its sovereignty, calling them “completely unacceptable and can have serious repercussions”. Jaish al-Adl, which claims responsibility for attacks on Iranian security forces along the border in Balochistan province in southwest Pakistan, called for talks between Islamabad and Balochistan as a way out.
Iran may continue targeting militant groups across its borders, like Houthis in Yemen and an alleged Israeli spy base in Iraqi Kurdistan – even when these strikes lead to protests from Baghdad and Erbil – reflecting Tehran’s longstanding instinct to defend itself and send a signal to Washington and Israel.
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