Iran and Pakistan: 3 keys to understanding the rising tensions between the two countries and its relationship with what is happening in the rest of the Middle East

Other Iran-backed groups have attacked US military bases in Iraq and Syria.

On the other hand, the United States and the United Kingdom are leading a campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, also backed by Iran, who have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea.

BBC Mundo explains it to you in three keys A new front of tension between Iran and Pakistan is adding fuel to the fire in this troubled region.

Iranian-Pakistani dispute broke out last Tuesday Iran attacks targets linked to terrorist group in Balochistan provinceIn West Pakistan.

According to Pakistani officials, two children were killed and three others were injured in the attack.

Iran stressed that its target is not just Pakistani citizens. Jaish Al AdalAn ethnic Baluch Sunni group that has in the past organized attacks in Iran and against Pakistani government forces.

Jaysh al Adl has claimed responsibility for several attacks against Iranian security forces in the past (mostly in Sistan-Baluchestan province), and Iran claims it is supported by the United States and Israel.

But the government of Pakistan considered the Iranian air campaign an “illegal act and unprovoked violation of its airspace”. He warned that this could lead to serious consequences. “Serious Results”,

Additionally, it recalled its ambassador from Iran and barred the Iranian ambassador from returning to his country for the time being.

This Thursday, Pakistan responded by launching missiles against “terrorist targets” inside Iranian territory.in the border province of Sistan and Baluchistan, where at least nine people died, according to Iranian state media reports.

The Pakistani army said that based on intelligence inputs it had attacked bases in Iran of the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front, groups accused of terrorist activities inside Pakistan.

He said suicide drones, rockets, missiles and other weapons were used in the operation, and extreme caution was taken to avoid “collateral damage”.

Similar to the justification offered by Iran, Pakistan stressed that its attack was aimed “in pursuit of its own security and national interest” and that it “respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of its neighbor.

The Iranian attack came on the same day that Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Iran’s Foreign Minister met in Davos, while Iranian and Pakistani armies held joint military exercises in the Gulf.

There is a border of 900 kilometers between Iran and Pakistan. And the security of both sides has been a long-standing concern for both governments.

In an interview with the BBC, former British ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire described the Balochistan region, which is divided between the two countries, as a “lawless” region where drug trafficking groups are responsible for thousands of murders. Are responsible.

Iran and Pakistan have in the past accused each other of harboring radical terrorist groups for years that carry out attacks against each other along their border areas.

In 2017, Pakistan said an Iranian drone was shot down because it was inside Pakistani territory, and in 2014 Iranian security forces crossed the border to pursue suspected militants.

Analysts describe relations between the two countries as Delicate, but cordial.

“It is never a good sign when two countries exchange such attacks, especially when it comes to two large and influential countries like Iran and Pakistan, but despite the chaos, civilian casualties and sharp rhetoric, This doesn’t seem like a real crisis.” BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams analyzed.

“Following the operation, both sides were keen to emphasize that this did not represent an attack on a neighboring country,” Adams said.

BBC Urdu Service says that the historical relations between the two countries have gone through ups and downs.

Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan as an independent state in 1947 and Tehran supported Pakistan in its war against India in 1965.

“There are deep cultural and historical ties between the two sides, with a strong legacy of commercial ties,” Michael Kugelman, director of South Asia at the Wilson Centre, tells BBC Mundo.

“And there have also been policy parallels, from plans to build a joint gas pipeline (never completed) to Iran’s expressions of support for Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir dispute with India,” says Kugelman.

However, after the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979, Pakistan contacted Saudi ArabiaIran’s rival.

Kugelman analyzes that this “has created a geopolitical obstacle to expanding cooperation between Iran and Pakistan”.

According to the BBC Urdu Service, “Over the past few years, Iran has also been accused by Pakistani authorities of recruiting youth for sectarian organizations.”

Building on the cordial relations that Kugelman points to, the analyst finds it “all the more shocking that Iran has unilaterally attacked Pakistan on an unprecedented scale.”

This is what analysts say Pakistan’s reaction to Iran’s action is not surprising And they are considered equivalent to the Iranian version in that they are specific strikes against rebel groups.

“Pakistan’s response increases the risk of escalating tensions but also provides an opportunity to reverse the divide. In effect, both sides are now tied down,” says Kugelman.

Other commentators suggested that Iran’s attacks in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan were motivated by the current turbulent dynamics of the Middle East.

Tehran says it does not want to get involved in any major conflict, although militant groups are at its call “Resistance Axis”That includes Houthi militants in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and various groups in Syria and Iraq, who have attacked Israel and its allies in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.

BBC Persian Service journalist Ziyar Gol said that this is a time Iran is fond of showing strength.

“And demonstrate to our population that acts of violence such as the recent suicide attack that killed 84 people during celebrations for the fourth anniversary of the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani will not be spared.”

Gol also thinks the same while analyzing Iran’s attacks in Iraq and Syria Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard It wants to demonstrate the ability of its missiles to reach areas where the United States, Israel and other foreign armies have strategic bases.

With regard to Pakistan, “Iran certainly knew it had to respond. Both sides have lived up to their honor and, perhaps, responded to the demands of public opinion,” says Adams.

However, Shashank Joshi, defense editor of the British magazine economisttold the BBC that “this was not the first time there had been border tensions (between Iran and Pakistan),” it was “The most serious increase in stress ever in memory.”,

At the same time, Pakistani journalist and analyst Baqir Sajjad believes that tension between the two countries may increase further in future.

Sajjad told the BBC that “tensions between the two countries are unlikely to subside suddenly following Pakistan’s retaliatory strike against Iran-based terrorists.”

“Fundamentalists in Iran will insist on retaliatory action against Pakistan. The growing mistrust between the two countries could fuel a new wave of terrorism between Iran and Pakistan in the Balochistan region. This has further complicated the already complex security situation in the region,