Iran launched airstrikes on Tuesday in Pakistan targeting alleged bases of the militant group Jaish al-Adl. The attack, which Iran claimed was in response to the group’s activities, has raised tensions in the region. Pakistan denounced the strikes as an “unprovoked violation” of its airspace, emphasizing the death of two children and injuries to three girls.
Confusion arose as Iranian state media reports on the incident disappeared shortly after the announcement. The attack on nuclear-armed Pakistan by Iran has the potential to strain relations between the two nations, which have a history of suspicion despite maintaining diplomatic ties.
This incident follows recent Iranian strikes on Iraq and Syria, with Tehran retaliating against a dual suicide bombing attributed to the Islamic State that killed over 90 people. Iran’s state-run media reported the use of missiles and drones in the Pakistan strikes, attributing the attack to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group founded in 2012, primarily operates across the border in Pakistan. While Iran has previously engaged in border conflicts with the group, a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan marks an unprecedented escalation.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a strong condemnation of the strikes, calling them a violation of sovereignty with potential serious consequences. Two Pakistani security officials noted damage to a mosque in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, about 50 kilometers inside Pakistan from the Iranian border.
Balochistan has faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for over two decades, initially seeking a share of provincial resources before turning to an independence insurgency. Iran has long suspected Pakistan of hosting insurgents, though tensions eased following a Chinese-mediated détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia last March.
On the previous day, Iran fired missiles into northern Syria targeting the Islamic State and into Iraq at what it claimed was an Israeli “spy headquarters” near the U.S. Consulate compound in Irbil. Iraq labeled these attacks a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty and recalled its ambassador from Tehran.
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