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Iraq And Pakistan Angry At Iran, Recall Ambassadors As Tensions Heat Up

Iranian Leader Vows 'Harsh Response' After Scores Killed In Bomb Blasts

KERMAN, IRAN - JANUARY 5: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaks during the funeral ceremony for victims of twin explosions near the cemetery where the grave of Iran's former top military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani is located on January 05, 2024 in Kerman, Iran. On Wednesday, 84 people were killed here when bombs exploded during a memorial procession to mark the fourth anniversary of Qasem Soleimani's assassination by the US. Soleimani was the head of the Revolutionary Guards' overseas operations arm, the Quds Force. No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bombing. (Photo by Getty Images)

Ilan Hulkower Contributor
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Iraq and Pakistan issued angry statements about Iranian strikes in their respective countries and have recalled their ambassadors from Iran.

Iran fired missiles Monday into northern Iraq at an alleged Mossad headquarters, killing four civilians, according to local authorities. Iran then elected Tuesday to air strike Pakistan at alleged bases for terrorist group Jaish al-Adl, killing two children, The Associated Press (AP) reported. (RELATED: US Strikes Missile Sites In Houthi-Controlled Yemen)

Iraq denied that the area Iran destroyed had any relation to Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. “We inspected on the ground, accompanied by members of the investigation committee, the home of the targeted businessman last night in Erbil, and it became clear that the allegations about targeting a Mossad headquarters were unfounded,” Iraqi National Adviser Qasim al-Araji tweeted in Arabic.

Iran recalled their ambassador to Iran on Tuesday and “summoned” Iran’s Chargé d’affaires to hand him “a note of protest” that strongly condemned the attack, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. Iraq then filed several complaints to the United Nations, stating “aggression is considered a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the security of the Iraqi people,” Xinhua reported.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry likewise issued a statement Wednesday that condemned “the unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran and the strike inside Pakistani territory which resulted in death of two innocent children while injuring three girls.” Pakistan warned that such “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences.”

The Pakistani prime minister and Iran’s foreign minister met on the day of the attack, and the navies of the two countries were holding joint drills, BBC reported.

An Iranian family stands outside a polling station in downtown Tehran holding portraits of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini along with placards reading in Farsi: “Leader, we are ready to sacrifice our lives (L) and Israel will be wiped of the map soon (R), on June 18, 2021, on the day of the Islamic republic’s presidential election. (Photo by MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi’s national security adviser Faleh Fayyad (R), who also is a leader of the Popular Mobilisation Froce known as the Hashed al-Shaabi, sits next to Hadi al-Ameri, head of the Badr organisation and also a leader of the mostly Shiite Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary units, during a memorial service held in Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone on February 11, 2020 to mark 40 days since the killing of Iran’s late top general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport last month. (Photo by SABAH ARAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranians mourn during the funeral of the victims of the attacks on Tehran’s parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in the capital Tehran on June 9, 2017. – Tehran hit out at Washington and Riyadh as tens of thousands attended the funerals Friday for those slain in the first attacks in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group. (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also said, “several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran” existed that made this “illegal act” much more concerning. An official protest had been given to the proper authorities in Iran itself, and Iran’s Charge d’affaires in Pakistan was also summoned over this affair, the foreign ministry added. Pakistan further recalled its ambassador of Iran, France 24 reported.

Shehbaz Sharif (C), leader of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) party and country’s former Prime Minister addresses the media after a meeting with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) party leaders ahead of the upcoming 2024 general elections at latter’s headquater in Karachi on December 29, 2023. (Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s chairman Gohar Khan (C) along with other party leaders arrives to attend a press conference in Islamabad on December 29, 2023. A Pakistan court ruled December 26 ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s party can contest elections using its cricket bat logo, lawyers said, winning the jailed opposition leader a rare reprieve before polls due in February 2024. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Tensions between Iran and Pakistan stem from them accusing each other of hosting terrorist organizations that commit attacks in the border area, BBC reported.