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Iran has attacked a Sunni jihadist group in Pakistan, increasing tensions between the neighbouring states following similar attacks by the Islamic republic in Syria and Iraq.
Iranian media late on Tuesday reported the destruction of two bases of Jaish ul-Adl in the remote western province of Balochistan, which borders Iran. The Pakistan-based Sunni militant group has waged an armed campaign against Tehran since its foundation in 2012.
Pakistan “strongly condemned” the strikes on its territory, saying two children were killed and three injured in the attack. The foreign ministry said the incident was “completely unacceptable”, warning of potential serious consequences.
The missile and drone strikes followed similar operations this week by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards in Iraq and Syria in response to a suicide bombing this month in the southern city of Kerman. Sunni jihadist group Isis took responsibility for the Kerman attack. The guards took responsibility for Iran’s strikes in Iraq and Syria but have not commented on the Pakistan attack.
Western concerns about the Islamic republic’s support for anti-Israel and anti-US Islamist groups, including Hizbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iraqi militias have escalated in recent months. Houthi rebels are targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea while Iranian-backed Iraqi militants have launched attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria.
The activity has increased fears that the war between Israel and Hamas, which erupted on October 7 following an attack by the Palestinian militant group in southern Israel, will evolve into a regional conflict.
Israel has launched a vigorous air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza, causing more than 24,000 deaths, according to Palestinian officials. Apparent Israeli strikes killed seven Hamas militants, including one of the group’s senior leaders, in Beirut, and a senior guards commander in Syria.
Iran, while denying any intentions to escalate regional tensions or engage in a war with Israel, has said it will retaliate against any actions targeting its commanders abroad or operations within its borders.
Iran’s defence minister, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, said on Wednesday that the country’s response to threats would be “proportional, decisive, and firm”. He underlined the military’s determination to defend national interests while respecting the sovereignty of neighbouring countries — a reference to Iraq and Pakistan.
According to the guards-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, the area targeted in Balochistan was Koh-e-Sabz. The region borders a restive area in south-eastern Iran where Sunni Muslims are a majority in the Shia-dominated Islamic republic.
Jaish ul-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in Rask, an Iranian city in Sistan-Baluchestan province, in December that left 11 police officers dead.
The separatist group fights for the rights of the minority Baluchi people in Iran’s south-east. It has assumed responsibility for numerous explosions, abductions and killings against Iranian officials and military personnel, particularly the guards’ forces.
Iran has retaliated by killing Jaish ul-Adl militants and loyalists in recent years. The group has been designated by the US as a terrorist organisation.
China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday urged Pakistan and Iran to “exercise restraint and avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension”.
The attack came hours after Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, discussed counter-terrorism measures in a meeting with Anwar ul-Haq, prime minister of Pakistan’s interim government, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Amirabdollahian called on Pakistan to help deliver a ceasefire in hostilities between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
