Iranian FM threatening a repeat strike on Pakistan

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has checked this content and has established that it is false since no statement was issued by the Iranian foreign minister along the lines of what the claim said.

To arrive to this verdict, the iVerify Pakistan team checked the recent statements of the Iranian foreign minister and foreign ministry but found nothing to suggest what the claim asserted.

HOW IT STARTED

The earliest mention of the claim that the iVerify Pakistan team found was in a post on social media platform X by South Asia Index on January 20, 2024, and gained over 481,000 views.

The post said: “If Pakistan and Iraq don’t take our warnings seriously, we will hit again, – Iran’s foreign minister.”

The same post was shared by a PTI supporter, gaining over 19,000 views.

The same posts were shared by X users here and here gaining over 12,000 and 1,800 views respectively.

Importantly, the posts did not share the date, time, location or source of where the Iranian foreign minister’s warning originated from.

South Asia Index wields considerable influence on X with over 173,000 followers, including state-run news agency The Associated Press of Pakistan, caretaker Information Minister Umar Saif, several prominent journalists and politicians etc.

Noticeably, the account does not have an associated website although it says “data-driven stories” in its account bio. So its posts do not have links to the source of information.

METHODOLOGY

The iVerify Pakistan team sought to determine the veracity of the claim since it came on the heels of a major diplomatic crisis between Iran and Pakistan after the former launched an attack on the latter’s territory on Jan 16.

In the investigation, the iVerify Pakistan team performed a keyword search on “statement by Iranian foreign minister,” “attack warning,” and “Pakistan.”

This search led the team to a report by Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

According to the Jan 17 article, the Iranian defence minister was questioned about the country’s strikes in the region against militants to which he said: “It doesn’t matter to us, we will react from any area that threatens Iran.”

However, it is important to note that he did not specifically single out Pakistan or Iraq in his comment.

The iVerify Pakistan team checked the website of Iran’s foreign ministry for any recent statements purportedly containing what the circulated post claimed.

A Jan 17 statement elaborated on a telephonic conversation between the Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers after Tehran’s Jan 16 attack.

A Jan 18 statement was issued on Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes.

Lastly, a statement was issued on Jan 19 about a telephonic talk between the two countries’ top diplomats.

Examining their contents, none of the three statements contained any overt or implicit warning or threat to Pakistan or Iraq as the circulated post claims.

IRANIAN STRIKE ON PAKISTAN TERRITORY

According to a Dawn.com report, Iran on January 16 had laun­ched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan.

The incident prompted strong condemnation from Islamabad, a downgrading of diplomatic ties as well as subsequent counter-strikes by Pakistan in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The Iranian strikes were part of a series of attacks carried out by Iran in recent days in Syria and Iraq as a response to recent terrorist attacks on its territory.

The two countries have since downplayed the incident and called for calm along with a resumption of their traditional ties.

CONCLUSION

The iVerify Pakistan team has determined that the claim circulating on social media regarding the Iranian top diplomat’s warning to Pakistan is false as he made no such statement.

Iran’s defence minister had remarked on targeting the sources of any threats to Iran but did not single out Pakistan, Iraq or any other country in particular.

Evidence and References

IRNA January 17, 2024 report on defence minister remarks:
https://en.irna.ir/news/85357204/Iran-has-no-limit-in-defending-its-security-Defense-minister

Jan 17 Iranian foreign ministry statement:
https://en.mfa.ir/portal/newsview/738482

Jan 18 Iranian foreign ministry statement:
https://en.mfa.gov.ir/portal/newsview/738537

Jan 19 Iranian foreign ministry statement:
https://en.mfa.ir/portal/newsview/738566