Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes on Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruling out a future Palestinian state, and Uganda’s opposition leader under house arrest.
Tit-for-Tat Attacks
Pakistan launched retaliatory “precision military strikes” inside Iran against what Islamabad said were Baluch militants from Pakistan hiding near the border city of Saravan early on Thursday. Local Iranian authorities said at least 10 foreigners were killed, including children, though Pakistani officials said that only Islamist militants who had taken refuge in Iran were targeted. “This action is a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
The assault follows an Iranian attack against Jaish al-Adl, a Baluch separatist group based in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, on Tuesday. Two children were killed in that strike, and another three people were injured. Baluch ethnic separatists have waged an insurgency against Pakistan for decades. Islamabad has accused Iran of hosting Baluch hideouts in the past, while Tehran has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to contain militants who threaten Iranian security.
Acting Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar cut short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday to address the crisis. Pakistan also recalled its envoy from Tehran and asked Iran’s ambassador not to return to Islamabad. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke with his Pakistani counterpart on Wednesday in an attempt to ease tensions, one of many communications channels currently open. But Pakistan continues to insist that it has the right to respond to any “illegal act” by Iran.
Still, both nations appear to be prioritizing diplomatic solutions to the escalating conflict. “Going forward, dialogue and cooperation is deemed prudent in resolving bilateral issues between the two neighboring brotherly countries,” Pakistan’s army said.
Iran has played a central part in ongoing tensions across the Middle East in recent months. Both Hamas and Hezbollah receive backing from Iran in their fight against Israel, and Tehran supports Yemen’s Houthis, who have been targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent weeks. On Monday, Iran also targeted alleged Islamic State militants in Syria as well as other alleged terrorist groups and Israeli-linked sites, including what Iran said was an Israeli spy headquarters, in Iraq.
“Iran’s missile strikes cannot be viewed in isolation, but rather as a part of the deepening regional rivalry between Israel and the so-called axis of resistance led by Iran and its allies,” argued Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy, in Foreign Policy. In this way, Iran’s growing regional aggression is not a “final act” of revenge but instead part of a “wider and more assertive strategy” to combat the West and its allies.
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What We’re Following
“All territory west of the Jordan.” In a nationally broadcast news conference on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told the United States that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state in any postwar scenario. “In any future arrangement … Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan,” Netanyahu said. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?”
Washington and other international actors have pushed Netanyahu to accept a future scenario after Israel’s war with Hamas ends in which the Palestinian Authority, which nominally oversees the Israeli-occupied West Bank at present, would also rule the Gaza Strip as a step toward establishing a sovereign Palestinian state that would exist alongside Israel.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pushed into Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Thursday near Nasser Medical Center, the region’s largest still-functioning hospital. According to Doctors Without Borders, patients and civilians at the hospital were forced to flee amid heavy bombardments. The United Nations estimates that around 7,000 people had been sheltering at the hospital. At least 60 alleged Hamas militants were killed in close-combat fighting over the past 24 hours, Israeli officials said, with 40 such individuals targeted in Khan Younis.
Israeli security forces also killed at least eight Palestinians during what Israel described as an overnight “counterterrorism operation” in the West Bank’s Tulkarm refugee camp, the IDF announced on Thursday. Israel said its troops faced retaliatory fire, leading to the arrests of 21 individuals. Local Palestinian officials, however, said 11 Palestinians were killed and around 60 people were arrested.
Under lock and key. Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine accused the nation’s military of surrounding his home and forcing him under house arrest on Thursday. Wine was set to attend nationwide demonstrations on Thursday to protest Uganda’s poor transportation infrastructure, including dire road conditions. He encouraged opposition members to still attend the protests, writing, “Fix our roads. Free all political prisoners!” on social media.
Police have threatened to crack down on protesters, arguing that such demonstrations could disrupt this year’s Non-Aligned Movement summit, which Kampala is hosting this week. The weeklong event has centered on Palestinians’ growing humanitarian crisis, Somaliland’s territorial status, and continued Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
Anti-corruption efforts. The U.S. State Department barred former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei from entering the United States on Wednesday due to allegations that he had accepted bribes while in office, among other accusations. Washington’s decision is part of the White House’s broader effort to support anti-corruption efforts in the Latin American country. Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as the nation’s new leader on Monday.
The United States sanctioned nearly 300 Guatemalan officials and private citizens with visa restrictions last month for their alleged efforts to undermine Guatemalan democracy. This included an attempt by Giammattei and his supporters to block Arévalo from taking power after he won the runoff election in August 2023.
Chart of the Week
Current Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, a pro-independence candidate, won last Saturday’s presidential election—much to China’s dismay. Beijing had repeatedly attempted to thwart the nation’s vote in favor of Hou Yu-ih, a more China-friendly candidate. But Taiwanese fears of an imminent Chinese invasion, spurred on by Beijing’s growing aggression in the South China Sea, pushed Taiwan to choose a candidate that would not bend to China’s will, political scientist Timothy Rich analyzed in Foreign Policy.
According to polling in December 2023 by Macromill Embrain, nearly 30 percent of Taiwanese are very or extremely concerned that China will start a war with Taiwan in the near future. Lai is part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hou is a member of the Kuomintang (KMT) party, and candidate Ko Wen-je leads the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Odds and Ends
Alongside Uganda’s Bobi, another famous (but far more snuggly) Bobi faced criticism this week. The Guinness Book of World Records temporarily paused a Portuguese dog named Bobi’s title of “oldest dog ever” on Tuesday after an article in Wired shed skepticism over his true age. Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo, is alleged to have died in October 2023 at the age of 31. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there for even the cutest pups in town.