Iranian FM with Pakistani caretaker PM
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, January 18: The expanding expanse of the Middle East tension now threatens to drag South Asia in its ambit. Pakistan fired missiles deep inside Iran while the open source intelligence networks claimed that the shelling continues even after the day break on Thursday.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry has officially said that the Islamic country is suspending its high level exchanges with Iran. Pakistan has also recalled its ambassador from Iran. Islamabad has also announced that the Iranian ambassador in Pakistan, currently in Iran, should not return.
Al Monitor in a report has quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), admitting that its one of the officers, Colonel Hossein-Ali Javdanfar, has been killed. The IRGC has attributed the killing of the officer to unspecified “terrorists” in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran. Al Monitor also stated that killing was undertaken by Jaish al-Adl, which operates in the Panjgur region of Balochistan in Pakistan.
Pakistan carried airstrikes backed by shelling in the Baluchistan region of Iran, claiming to have targeted the terror bases in the neighbouring country. It is being said among the intelligence tracking groups that Pakistan “conducted airstrikes targeting IRGC, and Baluchi terror assets inside Iran.” According to Jokerman Intel, Pakistan has targeted the Balochi groups — Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balocistan Liberation Front.
Iranian Foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum that Iran had carried out drone-based missile attacks inside Pakistan in self-defence. Indian Foreign Ministry also has officially lent its weight with Iran
The Ministry of External Affairs said yesterday “…we understand actions that countries take in self-defence”. The MEA underlined that “India has zero tolerance on terrorism”. Incidentally, the Iranian attacks against terror bases in Pakistan came just after the visit of the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who had also held a meeting with the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian.
However, security analysts rule out any significance of Jaishankar visit to Iran with respect to Tehran targeting the terror groups in Pakistan. The security analyst KC Singh said in a post on the social media platform X that “Iranians are masters of dissimulation, called Taqiya in Persian. They see India in US/Israel/UAE corner. Ministerial chit chat won’t change that.”
Incidentally, Iran is seen broadening the scope of the Middle East tension with an aim to force Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. The Iranian Foreign minister has said that Iran would stop attacking Israel in Lebanon if there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The western nations are also alleging that the Yemen-based Houthi rebels are being backed by Iran to disrupt the international maritime trade through the Red Sea by attacking with missiles. Iran is incidentally exploiting its assets of drones to change the scale and scope of the Middle East tension.
The Kerman attack had left over 100 people killed in Iran. The Islamic nation had accused the Afghanistan-based terror outfit linked to the ISISI for the Kerman attack.
But Iran carried out the surgical strikes inside Pakistan against camps of Jaish al-Adl in the Panjgur region of Balochistan. Security analysts claim that this outfit split from Jundallah. They claim that it’s a Sunni separatist group, and its camps are located in Harnai areas of Balochistan. Iran shares a long border with Balochistan in Pakistan.
Within a section of the security analysts, it’s being said that Jundallah is allegedly linked with Pakistan’s ISI. In some quarters, it’s also suggested that Jundallah had kidnapped Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav who had reportedly been working in Iran.
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