In Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi praised the Revolutionary Guard’s missile attack on Syria, Iraq and Pakistan, describing it as “security-creating measures” in the region.
Raisi accused “enemies” of seeking to make Iran appear “fragile in security,” expressing his appreciation for the work of the “Revolutionary Guard” in the region to “advance calm and security,” considering security “one of the most important issues in any country.”
For his part, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said that his country does not place any restrictions to defend its national interests and its people, stressing that it will deal firmly with threats.
The Fars Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, quoted Ashtiani as saying: “From any side we face a threat, we must defend the integrity of our lands, our national interests, and the people, and if there is any threat, we will respond to it.”
He said: “Of course, before taking any action, we warn and use diplomatic paths, dialogue and border negotiations, but if we do not get any results, we will certainly take action, as we saw what happened.”
Part of the effects of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard bombing the home of a businessman in Erbil (AFP)
In turn, the government “Mehr” agency quoted Ashtiani as saying that his country respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries, but it never accepts the presence of “conspiracies” on its borders.
For his part, Majid Mir Ahmadi, Iranian Deputy Interior Minister, called on Pakistan to show “a serious will to expel terrorists from its territory.” He told Fars Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards: “We have intelligence and security cooperation with Pakistan, we confront terrorist groups, we have brotherly relations, and we have permanent contacts, but it is unfortunate that some terrorist groups have headquarters on Pakistani soil.”
The novel “The Revolutionary Guard”
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that it destroyed a Mossad headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan, in response “to the recent evil actions of the Zionist entity that led to the (killing) of leaders from the Revolutionary Guard and the Axis of Resistance.”
During the past weeks, the IRGC supply official in Syria, Radhi Moussawi, was killed near Damascus, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, in the southern suburb of Beirut, and the military leader of Hezbollah, Wissam Al-Taweel, in southern Lebanon, were killed in operations attributed to To Israel.
Regarding the strikes in Syria, Tehran said that it targeted “the gathering places of leaders and main elements of terrorists (…), especially ISIS, in the occupied territories of Syria,” in response to two suicide bombings in Kerman, southern Iran, in early January (which it claimed. ISIS Khorasan, which led to the death of about 90 people.
The strikes, which were condemned by Iraq, the United States, and other international parties, came in the context of escalating tension in the Middle East and fears of a comprehensive regional conflict against the backdrop of the war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas movement, which is allied with Iranian-sponsored armed groups in the region and calls it the “Axis of Resistance.”
For its part, the Iranian “Border Guard” pushed its story about the conditions on the border with Pakistan. The commander of the “Border Guard,” Ahmed Ali Kudarzi, said that forces clashed with “a terrorist cell that tried to infiltrate the country, to carry out a sabotage operation,” pointing to clashes and heavy exchanges of gunfire at the Chakigor border station, according to the Tasnim agency affiliated with the Guard. “The revolutionary.”
The leader indicated that an armed man was killed, and that two other wounded militants were being pursued. Kudarzi said: “We stopped a car and confiscated large quantities of weapons, ammunition, explosive detonators, pipes, hand grenades, booby traps with pedals, explosives, RPG shells and associated ammunition.”
In addition, the “Tasnim” agency affiliated with the “Revolutionary Guard” reported on Wednesday that a senior officer in the “Revolutionary Guard” had been killed in an attack that it described as a “terrorist” attack in Balochistan Province in southeastern Iran.
The agency quoted a statement from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that the officer with the rank of colonel, Hossein Ali Javadanfar, was on his way back from an “administrative mission” when he was shot on the Khash-Zahedan road and killed. The agency did not provide further details.
The attack came the day after talks held by the Iranian special envoy to Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, with the Pakistani Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Gilani, and the Pakistani special envoy to Afghanistan, Asif Durrani.
Hours before the attack, Iranian official media reported that the two countries’ navies were conducting maneuvers in the Strait of Hormuz and the waters of the Gulf. Also, on Tuesday evening, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmed Vahidi participated in the opening of a trade exchange exhibition between Iran and Pakistan.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Vahidi as saying that the Iranian-Pakistani borders were and will remain borders of peace, friendship, and very close and good relations between the two countries. He said that relations “include not only the economic dimension, but also include strategic, cultural and historical ties between countries and create a deep friendship between countries.”
Wahidi said that there are those who do not care about the interests of the people and seek to prevent communications and economic interactions between neighboring countries.
China calls for “restraint”
On Wednesday, China called on Pakistan and Iran to exercise “restraint.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during a press conference: “We call on both parties to exercise restraint, avoid actions that may lead to escalation of tension, and work together to maintain peace and stability.”
The angry positions in Pakistan and Iraq herald a diplomatic setback for the government of the hard-line conservative Ibrahim Raisi, which is betting on continuing to undermine its regional and international isolation, amid geopolitical dynamics taking place in the region, especially after the October 7 war between the Hamas movement and Israel.
2024-01-17 19:18:46
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