Tensions escalate amid clashes between Iran and Pakistan

The Middle East conflict, which erupted with a surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel in October last year, has spilled over beyond the Middle East to Southeast Asia, reaching Pakistan. On Thursday (local time), just two days after being targeted by an attack from neighboring Iran, Pakistan carried out retaliatory airstrikes. With Pakistan being the world's fifth-most populous nation and an unofficial nuclear-armed state, concerns have been raised that the Middle East conflict might escalate into a nuclear threat.

"In order to safeguard national interests, precise strikes were conducted on the terrorist hideouts in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province," the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Thursday. News outlets such as CNN reported that Pakistan targeted seven locations within Iran, resulting in at least seven fatalities.

This action follows Iran's airstrike on Tuesday, targeting the stronghold of the Sunni separatist militant group "Jaish ul-Adl" based in Pakistan. Pakistan initiated an immediate retaliation, saying that it cannot tolerate any violations of sovereignty.

Amidst the ongoing conflict, Shiite-majority Iran, known as the “patron of Shia,” has been supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen that have been attacking Western civilian ships in the Red Sea region following the outbreak of the Middle East war. Against this backdrop, the Sunni extremist militant group ISIS conducted a terrorist attack on Jan. 3. During a ceremony to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed in a U.S. airstrike, Iran waged a massive counteroffensive against Sunni militant groups. Also on Monday, airstrikes were launched targeting the stronghold of ISIS in Syria.


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