The controversy over the assassination of the commander of the elite Quds force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, General Qasem Soleimani, by US forces in Iraq, has reached the Balkans.

A resolution submitted to the US Senate by Republican Senator Ted Cruz alleges that General Soleimani was planning terror attacks worldwide, including in Bosnia. The Iranian embassy in Sarajevo has denied this. Meanwhile, Albania – which provides refuge to a militant Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, MEK, has expelled two Iranian diplomats, both allegedly affiliated with the IRGC and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, MOIS.

The details surrounding these episodes are sketchy. But what is evident is that the Balkans is a terrain where violence is potentially possible between Iran and its foes. This potential is more acute, not just because of the MEK’s presence in Albania but also because Iran is engaged in a fierce regional rivalry with Saudi Arabia and Israel – while also being traumatized by the possibility of the US attempting regime change.

The Balkans could become collateral damage of Middle Eastern strategic rivalries – geographically close to the Middle East and containing easier targets, where Iran can strike at its rivals. Two countries stand out at this moment, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.