Pakistan Strikes Rebels In Iran; Tehran Miffed

Pakistan said it used rockets and drones to strike separatist Baloch militants inside Iran a retaliatory strike two days after Tehran said it attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory, as reported by Asif Shahzad and Gibrean Naiyyar Peshimam for Reuters.

Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people, including four children. I Photo: Asuspine Wikimedia

Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people, including four children.

The neighbors have had rocky ties in the past, but the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years. Tehran strongly condemned the strikes, saying civilians were killed, and summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires, its most senior diplomat in Iran, to give an explanation.

"A number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation," Pakistan's foreign ministry said, describing it as a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts.

“The sole objective of today's act was in pursuit of Pakistan's own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised," the ministry added, as reported by Parisa Hafezi, Charlotte Greenfield, and Ariba Shahid for Reuters.

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