Iran bombs Pakistan, a third country, in 24 hours and opens a new conflict front in the war in Gaza

Pakistan reported on Wednesday the death of two kids in an aerial bombing by Iran, after similar attacks by Tehran in Iraq and Syria against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups”.

Islamabad said in a statement that the Iranian attack on Tuesday night, near the two countries’ shared border, was “completely unacceptable and could have serious consequences.”

The attack caused the “death of two innocent boys and the wounding of three girls”, reads the Farnesina statement.

Iranian attacks on targets in three different countries in 24 hours have raised fears of turmoil in the Middle East it can get out of control.

Since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October, Iran has used its forces by proxy against Israel and its allies. But Tuesday, was directly involved and indicated that its missile attacks had been in response to terrorist attacks within its borders.

“They are contributing to the escalation of regional tensions, e all this has to stop“, said Catherine Colonna, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, after the attack on Iraq. Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, also denounced the attack on Iraq.

The attack on Pakistan

The attack on Pakistan was the latest carried out by Iran on Tuesday. The bombing had begun early on a suspected Mossad position in Erbil, Iraq. And then against an Isis group target in Syria. According to the Iranian news agency Mehrnews, “the response with missiles and drones” was directed against the Pakistani headquarters of the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl and assured that it is “another decisive step taken by Iran in response to the aggression against the security of our country”.

The Jaish al-Adl group, formed in 2012, is classified by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks in that country in recent years.

Jaish al-Adl took the credit an attack in December on a police station in Rask which killed at least 11 Iranian police officers.

The United States also qualifies this movement as a terrorist organization, underlining that it “primarily attacks Iranian security personnel”, in addition to carrying out murders, kidnappings and suicide attacks against the government and civil authorities.

These Iranian actions add up to the multiple open crises in the Middle East, with the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea which were responded to by bombing by the United States and its allies.

Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said his country “will not limit” your security actions.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned Iran’s representative to Islamabad to protest “an unjustified violation of its airspace.”

“This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is totally unacceptable can have serious consequences“warned the ministry.

For his part, the Iranian Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs, Mohammad Hosseini, assured that his country has warned Pakistan “that it must prevent the entry into Iran of people who kill large numbers of people, it is normal that there is a reaction from the Islamic Republic”.

China calls for moderation

China, ally of Islamabad and Tehran, called on both countries “to act with restraint, “Avoid actions that lead to an escalation of tensions and work together to maintain peace and stability.”

Iran and Pakistan often accuse each other of supporting militants to carry out attacks from across the border, but it is rare for the two sides’ official forces to clash.

Pakistani users’ social media accounts say the explosions occurred in Balochistan provincewhere both countries share a sparsely populated border of almost a thousand kilometres.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, warned of the seriousness of the attack.

“Iran has carried out attacks against Pakistan-based fighters in the past, but I don’t recall anything of this scale,” he wrote on X.

“This sinks relations between Pakistan and Iran, a delicate relationship even in the best moments, in a serious crisis,” he added.

Pakistan has always maintained that “terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action,” a Pakistani statement underlined, describing it as “even more concerning that this illegal act took place.” despite the existence of several communication channels between Pakistan and Iran”.