Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp has claimed to have conducted a cross-border operation on Pakistani soil, rescuing two border guards from a Jaish ul-Adl terror organisation.
According to Fars News, citing a statement by the IRGC Ground Force’s Qods Base in Southeastern Iran, an intelligence operation on Tuesday night freed two Iranian border guards who had been abducted two years ago by the Jaish al-Adl terror organisation.
Just days before, Iran executed Javid Dehghan, a man accused of being a former leader of the Pakistan-based group.
Jaish al-Adl had conducted numerous cross-border attacks on Iran, including a 2019 suicide attack that killed 27 troops on the Khash-Zahedan road in Iran’s southeast province. The Khash-Zahedan attack, incidentally, took place a day before the Pulwama attack in India that killed 40 CRPF personnel. In response, Iran’s Revolutionary Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said if the Pakistan government did not punish the Jaish al-Adl for the attack, Iran would retaliate.
Iran has frequently accused it of harbouring terrorists who conduct cross-border strikes on Iran.
The announcement of the successful intelligence operation came two days before Iranian’s Defence Minister met with India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday, to attend a meeting of defence minister of the Indian Ocean rim countries.
While India’s relationship with Iran came under strain after US President Donald Trump imposed binding sanctions preventing many countries from buying Iranian oil, the two nations have frequently been united in condemning Pakistan for its role in harbouring terrorism.
However, with Joe Biden in power, India may hope for a rapprochement in US-Iran ties. On Thursday, the chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp said that Indian refiners would resume imports of Iranian oil if the US eased its sanctions. Biden’s administration is currently seeking a diplomatic solution to the dispute with Iran, which has soured ties to unprecedented lows after Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, prompting Iran to resume its nuclear enrichment programme.
