Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Iran on Thursday, targeting separatist Baloch militants, according to the country’s foreign ministry. This comes two days after Tehran claimed to have attacked the bases of another group located within Pakistani territory.
The strikes are the most high-profile cross-border intrusion in recent years, and Tehran has demanded an explanation.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7 and Iran’s allies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen have also entered the fray, the Iran-Pakistan exchange only heightens concerns about instability throughout the Middle East.
Three non-Iranians, including four children and three women, were killed when multiple missiles struck a village in the Pakistani border province of Sistan-Baluchestan, according to Iranian media.
“Through a series of precisely targeted, highly coordinated precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts,” the intelligence-based operation resulted in the deaths of several terrorists, according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry.
Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a statement from the ministry.
An unidentified official at the Tasnim news agency of Iran cited a statement, stating that Iran has requested an explanation from Islamabad regarding the strikes. Iranian media reported that Pakistan’s charge d’affaires, its highest-ranking diplomat in Tehran, has been summoned.
A spokesperson for the foreign ministry stated that caretaker Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar will cancel his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos and return home.
