Iran to Pakistan: Shun harboring Jaish al-Adl or expect more missiles

Iran and Pakistan have been at odds for many years, especially after the 2019 bombing that killed a large number of Iranian guards. In that time, a commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari urged former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani to give the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) more freedom to act against Pakistan for harboring and feeding the Jaish al-AdI extremist who claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 27 Revolutionary Guards.

The group Jaish al-AdI, or the Army of Justice, was formed 12 years ago and has been largely at loggerheads with Iran and frequently carried out attacks in bordering areas to target its soldiers and bombings inside the cities.

Iran claims that Jaish al-AdI was backed by Pakistan with the support from Saudi Arabia amid attacking Iranian guards. Jafair, who was briefing the gathering at Iranian city of Isfahan, said that the government of Pakistan must pay the price of harboring terrorist and separatist groups, including Jaish al-AdI.

In that time, he also warned that Tehran will no longer wait for any procedures rather than act directly to counter such attacks. He didn’t stop here as he went further and blamed Pakistan’ army and its intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for sheltering the perpetrators of the deadly attack in Iran.

In 2019, the then Iranian president Rouhani and former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been put behind bars by the military establishment over a corruption scandal, had spoken on the phone, where Rouhani demanded Pakistan to act strongly against anti-Iranian terrorist groups.

Referring to his country’s perpetual enemies, Israel and US, Rouhani told Khan that Pakistani soil should not be used against Iran and Islamabad should not let Iran’s enemy use Pakistan land and get shelter there.

Actions have taken though five years later

Though it took five years, Iran’s missiles finally struck bases of Jaish al-AdI in Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, and the attack worsened the already-strained relations between Tehran and Islamabad. The attack, which Pakistan called an “unprovoked violation of its airspace” comes days after deadly bombing in Iran that took the lives of dozens of people.

Iranian state media reported that two bases of Jaish al-AdI in Pakistan were targeted by missiles on Tuesday. No more details were given, but the attack comes a day after the IRGC attacked targets in Iraq and Syria with missiles.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has “strongly” condemned the attacks, labeling them as an “unprovoked violation of its airspace”. A statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that two children were killed and three girls received injuries in the incident.

The attack in Pakistan came a day after Iranian missiles killed businessman Peshraw Dizayee in in Erbil, capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region. EPA

“It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan’s strong protest has already been lodged with the concerned senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran. Additionally, the Iranian Charge d’affaires has been called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” the statement reads.

Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. “Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence,” it added.

Iran and the three countries – Syria, Iraq and Pakistan

Prior to the strikes that targeted Pakistan’s Balochistan region, Iran also carried out attacks in Syria and Iraq and warned them not to let their soil be used against Iran.

According to IRGC, the initial missile strike focused on locations where commanders and key operatives of recent terrorist incidents in the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask were believed to be gathering, Iranian News Agency Mehr reported. The second missile strike had been executed against a prominent espionage center operated by the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

Spokesman for the Iranian Parliament National Security referring to the IRGC recent attacks using missiles at the “Zionist regime centers in Northern Iraq and the training center of Takfiri forces in west Syria” should be analyzed in the framework of defending the country’s security.

Speaking to Mehr, Abolfazl Amoui siad the Rask terrorist incident and the explosion at the death anniversary of Qassem Soleimani in Kerman was efforts by the Zionist regime to make the east of Iran insecure.

Regarding Iran’s security treaty with Iraq which is expected to be fully implemented, Amoui said that “Takfiri groups should also know that Iran’s power cannot be tested and that Iran is capable of defending its people in any situation.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had called for international support from members of the Security Council after filing a complaint against Iran for ballistic missile attacks targeting the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

The attack left four dead while six others received injuries. The casualties are all civilians.

Jaish al-AdI carried out two attacks in December alone

Prior to the strikes that targeted Jaish al-AdI hideouts in Pakistan’s Balochistan, the group carried out two attacks in “December 2023”, and earlier this month targeted Iranian forces in Rask.

Rask, which is located in Sistan-Baluchistan province, had often come under attack by the Jaish al-Adl fighters, and these attacks claimed the lives of 12 policemen within one month.

Iran did not expect that Jaish al-Adl would become stronger after Tehran executed Abdolmalek Rigi, the founder of the Jundallah militant group, in 2010. Iran claimed that Jundallah carried out several attacks in Iran, including an attack on former President Mahmoud Ahmadinbejad that left one of his guards dead in 2005, including a bombing in Pishin that killed nearly 40 people.

But according to the US Institute of Peace (USIP), Jaish al-Adl is one of many splinter organizations that emerged from Jundallah after Rigi was executed. However, Iran considered the group as the successor of Jundallah and accused the US and Saudi Arabia as a key supporter of the group.

Nevertheless, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for attacks in October 2013, April 2015, and April 2017 which resulted in the deaths of Iranian border guards.