Pakistan strikes ‘terrorist hideouts’ in Iran, kills at least nine, Iranian media says

Two days after an Iranian attack on its territory, Pakistan announced Thursday January 18 that it had carried out “strikes against terrorist hideouts” in Iran. Three women and four children were killed in explosions in the southeast of the country, Iranian public television said.

“This morning, Pakistan carried out a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision strikes against terrorist hideouts in Sistan-Baluchistan province.”in the south-east of Iran, announced the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “A number of terrorists were killed”, he said. In Sistan-Baluchestan, the Iranian army has been facing a latent insurgency for decades.

Beijing wants to play intermediary

Tehran, for its part, carried out an airstrike on Tuesday evening against “terrorist targets” in Pakistan. Islamabad had judged “totally unacceptable” and unjustified this attack, which caused the death of two children. “This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of imminent large-scale terrorist activity.”the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

In response to the Iranian strikes, Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Iran and decided to prevent the return of the Iranian ambassador, who is currently in his country. The Iranian authorities, for their part, summoned the Pakistani charge d’affaires in Tehran. China, which maintains privileged ties with Islamabad and Tehran, stands ready to “play a constructive role” to ease tensions between the two countries, says a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy.