Caption,
Protesters and members of Iran’s paramilitary forces line up next to a fourth-generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile displayed during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Palestine, in Tehran, November 24, 2023.
January 18 2024, 13:34 WIB
Updated an hour ago
Pakistan launched a retaliatory attack on Iran, killing at least nine people, after Iran carried out attacks on Pakistan by firing missiles and drones on Tuesday (17/01). What is behind this attack?
Pakistan said its strikes targeted “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Iran condemned the attack, which it said killed three women, two men and four children.
The retaliatory attack occurred in the midst of heating up tensions in the Middle East along with interlocking crises.
Israel is currently fighting with the Palestinian militia group, Hamas, in Gaza and is responding to attacks with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
While Iraqi and Syrian-backed groups are attacking US troops, the US and UK are attacking the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen
Previously, after attacking Iraq and Syria, Iran admitted that it had fired missiles and drones into western Pakistan, Tuesday (16/01).
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said the operation targeted the Jaish al-Adli militant group, which he called an “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan.
Caption,
Iranian missiles – such as those fired in a training exercise – have been fired at Pakistan, Iraq and Syria in recent days.
As a result, the Pakistani government withdrew its ambassador to Iran and prevented the Tehran envoy from returning.
The Balochistan attack comes after Iran attacked targets in Iraq and Syria earlier this week.
Islamabad said the attack was “illegal” and warned of “serious consequences”.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, speaking in Davos, confirmed that no Pakistani nationals were targeted, only Jaish al-Adl members.
“We only target Iranian terrorists on Pakistani territory,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
He added that he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart and “assured him that we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and Iraq”.
What is the chronology of the Iranian attack?
The attack in Pakistan, on Tuesday (16/01), hit the village of Sabz Koh in Balochistan Province, about 45km from the Iranian border and 90km from the nearest city of Panjgur.
Local officials describe the region as a sparsely populated area that is home to Baloch cattle owners and smuggling of goods, drugs and weapons.
“Communities on both sides of the border perceive themselves as lacking basic needs, face discrimination and demand a greater share of their own resources,” security analyst Zaigham Khan told the BBC.
The day before, on Monday (15/01), Iran fired ballistic missiles at Kurdish-controlled Syria and northern Iraq.
Iran said it was targeting the Islamic State group and Israel’s Mossad spy agency, both of which it said were involved in the Kerman bombing.
The attack in Iraq hit a building in the northern city of Irbil.
Four civilians were killed and six others injured in the attack, local authorities said. The US condemned the attack.
Iran then attacked Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, which is the last remaining opposition stronghold in the country and hosts 2.9 million refugees.
Who is the Jaish al-Adl group?
Tehran said it was targeting the Jaish al-Adl, or “army of justice” group.
They are an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim group that has carried out attacks in Iran and also against Pakistani government forces.
Last December, Jaish al-Adl attacked a police station in Rask, a town near the border with Pakistan.
In Iran, the Sunni Baloch Muslim minority complains of discrimination in the Shia Muslim majority country, while Baloch separatist groups continue their insurgency movement against the Pakistani government.
Caption,
Two armed military personnel of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) monitor an area while standing guard next to an anti-aircraft missile system during a military parade in Tehran, Iran.
This group has been designated a terrorist group by Washington and Tehran.
Security observer in Pakistan, Aamir Rana, told the BBC that the diplomatic crisis “will take a while to subside, but it is also something that Pakistan does not want to make worse”.
He said in the past Pakistan had not reacted to Iran’s actions along the border – “but now the decision is in Iran’s hands as to whether Iran wants to do the right thing”.
How are various countries reacting?
Iran’s attack on nuclear-armed Pakistan represents a dramatic escalation.
Pakistan expressed outrage, saying the attack occurred “despite the existence of several channels of communication” between the countries.
On Wednesday (17/01), Islamabad said it had recalled its ambassador to Iran and the Iranian ambassador would not be allowed to return to the country for the time being.
Pakistan and Iran have friendly relations. The attack came on the same day that Pakistan’s prime minister and Iran’s foreign minister met in Davos and as Iran and Pakistan’s navies held joint military exercises in the Gulf.
But both accuse each other of harboring militant groups that have carried out attacks on each other in their border regions for years.
Security on both sides of the shared border, which stretches some 900km, has been a long-standing concern for both governments.
China on Wednesday urged Pakistan and Iran to “exercise restraint” and “avoid actions that could lead to escalation of tensions”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning added that Beijing views the countries as “close neighbors”.
What is behind the Iranian attack network?
This latest airstrike comes at a time of increasing tensions in the Middle East, due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
Tehran says it does not want to get involved in a wider conflict.
But the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Houthi militants in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and various groups in Syria and Iraq, has carried out attacks against Israel and its allies to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
The US and UK have launched air strikes against the Houthis after they attacked commercial ships.
Caption,
Watched by Tehran residents, protesters and members of Iran’s paramilitary forces line up next to a fourth-generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile displayed during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with Palestine, in Tehran, November 24, 2023.
Iran’s attacks also come two weeks after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed a “tough response” to the bomb blast in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, which killed 84 people and injured many more.
Thousands of people gathered in the city of Kerman to commemorate the death of General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq by a United States drone on January 3 2020.
During his lifetime, General Soleimani led the elite Quds force which carried out covert operations abroad for the Revolutionary Guards and reported directly to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A number of analysts suspect that Iran is taking revenge against those deemed responsible for the bomb explosion on January 3, 2024.
At a time when regional tensions are increasing, Iran is also seen as wanting to show strength and show its people that acts of violence will not go unpunished.
2024-01-18 11:54:10
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