Iran informed Pakistan before January 16 missile strike, claims report
Iran allegedly informed Pakistan about its Tuesday (January 16) missile strike against the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl on the latter's soil beforehand, local media has reported. However, what is said to have "created a larger crisis" is that Tehran failed to communicate with Islamabad that it "would make it (the assault) public," a source told Amwaj. Iran conducted strikes in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Tuesday, killing two children and wounding several others.
Why does this story matter?
The crisis began on Tuesday when Iran launched attacks in the Balochistan region. Iran claimed it targeted Jaish al-Adl—an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim group—that has carried out attacks both inside Iran and on Pakistani government forces. But the attack infuriated Pakistan, which called the strike "an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran." Pakistan struck back on Thursday, targeting Baloch separatist organizations, killing at least nine people on Iran's southeast border.
Telegram channel close to IRGC claims coordination with Pakistan
Per Amwaj, a Telegram channel close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) posted on Thursday, "The (Iran) attack on terrorist positions in Pakistan required coordination with the Pakistani government." The message continued, "Today's attack by Pakistan is also in line with the agreement that took shape and a result of the determination of the two countries to deal with border terrorism and in the direction of establishing sustainable security on the frontier."
Cross-border strikes raise alarm about regional instability
Some journalists also believe Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi-Qomi's recent visit to Pakistan may have been aimed at informing Islamabad of Tuesday's attack. However, these claims could not be independently verified. Meanwhile, the back-and-forth strikes between Iran and Pakistan mark the region's most high-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years. There are now concerns that the situation in the Middle East might escalate, with war already raging between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza since October 2023.
Pakistan, Iran agree to 'de-escalate' tensions
As of now, both Pakistan and Iran have agreed to de-escalate tensions following tit-for-tat missile strikes earlier this week. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, spoke over the phone on Friday, Islamabad said. "The two foreign ministers agreed that working-level cooperation and close coordination on counterterrorism and other aspects of mutual concern should be strengthened," an official statement read.
