IN-DEPTH: As Iran and Pakistan Trade Strikes, Experts Warn of Growing Destabilization in West Asia

Iranian missiles hit the terror bases of the Jaish al-Adl militant group inside Pakistan on Tuesday. Pakistan retaliated by striking inside Iranian territory early Thursday, raising concerns of a major inflammation of conflict in West Asia. Experts have called the attacks geopolitical messaging from Iran threatening a wider weakening of regional security amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict. “Iran is delivering a message—that if Israel strikes they can do a lot of regional destabilization,” said Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. However, Mr. Iyer-Mitra termed it a “panic message” and “not coherent,” and questioned who the message was directed toward. Iran also attacked what it termed an Israel spy base near the U.S. consulate in Erbil in northern Iraq, as well as “anti-Iran terror groups in Syria” on Monday. This was followed by the attack inside Pakistan in which two children were killed and three were injured, according to media reports....