Iran has carried out missile attacks on Syria, Iraq and most recently Pakistan. The attacks may increase the cycle of violence in the Middle East, says Professor Hannu Juusola.
Iran’s behavior in a volatile situation in the Middle East is surprising. Iran has carried out several missile strikes on its neighboring countries this week, most recently on Pakistan last night. Pakistan reported that two children were killed and three were wounded.
Pakistan warned Iran of “serious consequences.”
Pakistan already invited its Iranian ambassador home and the visiting Iranian ambassador to Pakistan cannot return to his post.
According to Iran, it was targeted by a Sunni Muslim militant group operating in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Iran accuses the group of carrying out attacks on Iranian security forces on the border between the two countries. According to Iran, Pakistan supports militants.
Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Helsinki Hannu Juusola says that the issue has been vexing between the countries for a long time.
Iran also struck Iraqi Kurdistan and Syria the night before Tuesday.
In Syria, according to Juusola, the attacks were aimed at an area where the opposition opposing the official Syrian government operates.
But the terrorist organization Isis still operates there. Iran says that it directed its attack specifically against it.
Attacks on Iraq, on the other hand, can be seen as a direct counterattack against Iran’s blood enemy, Israel. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said that the target of its ballistic missiles was an Israeli spy center in Iraq.
Commander of the Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salamin a total of 15 missiles were launched.
– There are indications of the activities of Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, in the regions. But Iran also has problems with the self-governing region of Iraqi Kurdistan, says Juusola.
According to Juusola, Iran believes that there are opposition forces operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, which are causing internal unrest in Iran.
Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani denied that there was an espionage center operating in the area.
– The most surprising thing is that we are in no way a party to this conflict. We don’t know why Iran is attacking innocent civilians, he told Reuters.
According to Reuters, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not comment on the issue of the spy center, but signaled that Iran appears to be continuing its attack against Israel on several fronts.
Juusola: One can only guess at Iran’s motives
According to Juusola, Iran’s motivations can really only be guessed at. The background is probably that Iran has recently been the target of attacks – the most recent being the terrorist acts claimed by ISIS at the beginning of the year in Kerman.
The attacks carried out by Iran can be seen as a way to respond to internal political pressures, analyzes Juusola.
– You could imagine that in this situation it is not in Iran’s interest to open new fronts. It may have been considered best to strike against opponents against whom it has worked before.
Iran’s actions are naturally not good for the stability of the region, quite the opposite.
– Every opening of a new front or response to related violence increases general uncertainty in the region. It was a question of the US attacks on Yemen or these Iranian attacks, Juusola sums up.
Source: Reuters