Global concern to expand the conflict in the Middle East is caused by Iran’s aggressive activity, with Tehran striking three different countries within a few hours. Targets are Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Idlib in northern Syria and, most surprisingly, the region of southwestern Pakistan, with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs speaking of a “strike against Iranian terrorists.”

“Violence has spread beyond Israel and Gaza to the wider region, after Iran carried out raids in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, and the US again struck Houthi targets in Yemen amid continuing attacks on shipping in the Red Sea” CNN comments.

“We targeted Iranian terrorists which are in Pakistani territory,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said characteristically.
The messages Tehran is sending are resounding, with the chances of Iran’s military involvement now increasing dangerously.

Iran’s foreign minister has made it a condition to end the conflict in Gaza in order to stop further attacks in the region. “If the genocide in Gaza stops, then it will lead to the end of other crises and attacks in the region,” the Iranian foreign minister clarified at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
For an unprovoked and flagrant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, Islamabad speaks of recalling its ambassador in Tehran and warning of retaliation.

“Pakistan reserves the right to respond in this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will fall solely on Iran”, explained the representative of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This is an unprecedented attack by Iran against Pakistan that counts population of nearly 232 million, and is also a nuclear power. Tehran’s missile attacks are taking place in the province of Balochistan, an area not by chance, since the distinct Baluch ethnicity that follows the Sunni doctrine lives there and two bases of the Sunni armed group Jaish Al-Adl, which has in the past launched attacks against Iran with the last one taking place last December

The Houthis defy Washington

The Middle East looks like a minefield as the US crackdown on the Houthi rebels has failed to produce results, with Yemeni rebels defying Washington.

Yemeni rebels were re-designated by the US as terrorist grouphowever, they themselves replied that this would not stop their attacks.

As Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters, Washington’s decision it will not affect their businesses aimed at preventing Israeli or Israel-bound ships from crossing the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Bab el-Madeb Strait.

The Biden administration on Wednesday reinstated pro-Iranian Shiite rebels to a list of terrorist groups, in the latest US effort to block Houthi forces from attacking international shipping in protest of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The barrage of attacks has caused serious problems in global trade.

However, it is noted that Washington promises the rebels that it will “immediately” review the designation if they stop the attacks.

The United States, remaining vigilant, is launching new strikes against the pro-Iranian Houthis, assuring they are aiming for de-escalation.

Iranian-Russian axis

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced today that it expects that President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart will soon sign a new interstate treaty between the two countries.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told reporters that the new treaty will consolidate strategic cooperation between Moscow and Tehran and will cover the entire range of their relations.

“This document is not only timely, but long overdue. After the signing of this treaty, the international context has changed and the relations between the two countries are experiencing an unprecedented recovery”, said Zakharova and added that the new treaty is expected to be signed during one of the next contacts, as she described it, between the two presidents.

Last month, amid strengthening political, trade and military ties between Moscow and Tehran, which the US and Israel view with concern, Putin held five-hour talks in the Kremlin with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented that no date has yet been set for a meeting between the two leaders, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

In November, the Kremlin announced that Russia and Iran were developing their relations, “including in the field of military-technological cooperation”, but declined to comment on the White House’s hint that Iran may be considering supplying Russia with ballistic missiles.

Iranian authorities have announced that military cooperation with Russia is expanding day by day.

In November, Iran said it had completed arrangements to supply Russia with Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 trainer aircraft.