Iran on Tuesday launched airstrikes targeting a Sunni militant group in Pakistan, attracting a strong rebuke from its neighbor, which said two children were killed in the attack.
Tehran struck two bases in Pakistan’s mountainous southwestern Balochistan region, targeting the Jaysh al-Dhulm militant group, a coalition of rebel units involved in the Syrian Civil War.
Pakistan condemned the attack as an “unprovoked violation of its airspace” in a sharply worded statement from its foreign ministry that listed the casualties as two dead children and three injured girls.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps previously targeted what it claimed was Israel’s spy headquarters in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with “ballistic missiles as part of an operation against anti-Iran terror groups and networks in the region,” according to the country’s news agency.
Iranian missiles have also hit Syria in recent days, targeting sites allegedly linked to teh Islamic State (ISIS), saying it was defending its security and countering terrorism.
Vahid Jalalzadeh, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said IRGC’s attacks on targets controlled by terrorists in the region showed that Iran will act firmly and decisively when it comes to protecting its security.
Pakistan called the violation “completely unacceptable” while threatening that there will be “serious consequences.”
“It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” the ministry said.
“Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.”
Pakistan lodged a protest with the Iranian foreign ministry and recalled its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan – who is at the moment visiting Iran – will not be allowed to come back.
Iran said it used “precision missile and drone strikes,” to destroy two strongholds of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, known in Iran as Jaish al-Dhulm, in the Koh-e-Sabz area of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency.
The attack comes after Iran launched missiles in northern Iraq and Syria Monday, in the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East where Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza risks spiraling into a wider regional conflict.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the attack on its territory killed “two innocent children” and warned Iran of “serious consequences.”
It described the airstrike as an “unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran … inside Pakistani territory.”
“It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” the ministry said.
The attack comes as tensions in the Middle East have exponentially skyrocketed since the war in Israel began Oct. 7.
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