This week, two activists are facing trial under the UK’s Terror Act for the “crime” of holding a flag at a demonstration. But this wasn’t a Palestinian flag, which former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said could be a criminal offence. It was Kurdish.
Observers might expect that the exacerbation of long-running Iranian-Pakistani tensions would be against Islamabad’s interests, just like they might think the same about closer Indian-Iranian relations in the aftermath of this unprecedented tit-for-tat against designated terrorists in Balochistan. In reality, the Pakistani Establishment – which refers to the country’s powerful military-intelligence structures that call the shots behind the scenes – stands to benefit from this crisis.
On January 16, 2024, the Yemeni Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for an attack involving “appropriate missiles” against the Greek vessel Zografia, which was “heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.” This took place only one day after the Houthis carried out a similar attack against an American vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
On Tuesday, Iran used missiles and drones to strike western Pakistan near Koh-e-Sabz. On Thursday, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in southeastern Iran near Saravan, then released a statement claiming that “Iran is a brotherly country.”
More than a sibling squabble is going on here. Iran and Pakistan were apparently targeting hideouts of armed non-state actors—Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan, and the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front in Iran—that each country accuses the other of harboring. Will the tit-for-tat strikes escalate? How does this flashpoint fit in with ongoing conflicts involving Iranian proxies in Yemen and Gaza? Below, experts from our Atlantic Council family share their insights.
UK defense minister Grant Shapps has predicted a global conflict between the West and Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, within five years. Shapps has called on Britain’s allies to increase their military spending in response to this so-called “existential threat.”
In-depth: Armenian lawyers and the diaspora community in Jerusalem are uniting their efforts to push back against secretive Israeli land deals.
Yerevan, Armenia – There are mounting concerns in Armenia regarding a controversial land lease agreement in East Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, with many fearing the issue goes well beyond just a commercial deal.
Israeli forces raided foreign exchange and money transfer agencies in Ramallah and other cities in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, seizing millions of dollars suspected of being intended to fund the Islamist group Hamas, the military said.
Iran has launched strikes against targets in three allied countries – Syria, Iraq and Pakistan – in two days. Pakistan responded with a missile attack on Iranian territory. So why did Iran do it, and why did it happen now?
Everything suggests Iran’s military, the Revolutionary Guards, were under pressure to act from Islamic hardliners inside the country.
Iran said it targeted a “Mossad spy headquarters” as “revenge” after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for suicide bombings that killed dozens in Tehran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday it destroyed an Israeli spy headquarters in a series of airstrikes near the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq, and the attack killed a wealthy Kurdish businessman and other civilians.
Iran launched missile strikes on three different countries this week – Iraq, Syria and Pakistan – while proxy militant groups it backs continue to target US and Western interests and fight Israel, stoking fears of conflict that could engulf the Middle East and spread to other regions.
Why did Iran conduct strikes on Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria?