International community urges restraint as Middle East violence spreads

International Desk, Jan 18 (EFE).- The European Union said Thursday it is «gravely concerned» by the «spiral of violence» in the Middle East and Asia after the latest attacks in Pakistan, Iraq and Iran.

Russia and Turkey have also called for tensions to be resolved politically and diplomatically.

The regional unrest has stemmed from the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began in October. That war has also led to cross border violence with Lebanon-based, Shiite Hezbollah militants, who are supported by Iran.

Houthi Shiite rebels who control large parts of Yemen have also stepped up their attacks on cargo ships passing through the Red Sea in response to Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

On Wednesday night, the Pentagon confirmed that the US had launched a fourth round of missile strikes against the Iran-backed rebels, who they designated as “global terrorists” this week.

“U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen,” a statement said.

The unrest has also spread to South Asia. On Tuesday Iran struck targets of the Sunni separatist Jaish al-Adl group in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, killing at least two people.

Pakistan responded on Thursday with a missile strike on the Sistan-Baluchestan province in Iran, killing at least 10 people, Iranian state media said.

“These attacks, including in Pakistan, in Iraq and Iran now are of utmost concern for the European Union because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and they have also a destabilizing effect on the region,” EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano said during a daily press conference Thursday.

Turkey, one of Pakistan’s main allies but which also maintains good relations with Iran, has called for “calm to be restored as soon as possible” and to “avoid an escalation of tensions”, foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday.

Russia also urged Iran and Pakistan to exercise “maximum restraint” and to resort to diplomatic and political channels to resolve bilateral tensions, which Moscow was watching “with alarm”, a foreign ministry statement said.

The Pakistan army on Thursday called for «dialogue and cooperation” to resolve bilateral tensions between the “two neighboring brotherly countries».

In addition to the attacks on Pakistani soil, Iran on Tuesday STRUCK Islamic State targets in Syria and alleged Israeli bases in Iraq, in retaliation for attacks in the Iranian cities of Kerman and Rask, which killed more than 100 people in December.

Jaish al-Adl, which Tehran claims receives support from Israel, claimed responsibility for the attack in Rask, in which 11 policemen were among those killed. EFE

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