At a joint press conference in Islamabad with his Pakistani counterpart, Jalil Abbas Jilani, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, stated today that terrorists will never come between Iran and Pakistan improving their relationship, adding that the terrorists based along the Iran-Pakistan border areas are supported by hostile third parties.

He stated that many Iranian and Pakistani personnel have lost their lives in recent years in the fight against terrorism, emphasizing that this only pushes both countries to unite their strengths in fighting terrorism.

Amir-Abdollahian also said that Tehran and Islamabad both agree that efforts should be made to improve the economy, development, and welfare of the people living along the common border, noting that he is working with his counterpart on all arrangements and necessary preparations for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Pakistan following the latter's invitation.

“Our relations with Iran are based on cultural characteristics,” the Pakistani Foreign Minister affirmed, referring to cultural, historical, geographical, and religious relations between both nations.

Jilani also noted that “both sides emphasized that the bilateral relations are valuable for the two neighboring nations and are an important source of peace and stability in the region.”

“Iran and Pakistan are determined to develop political and security relations. Terrorist threat is a common challenge as Iran and Pakistan are determined to adopt a collective approach to deal with terrorists, and this can be achieved,” he added, stressing that “the two countries’ territorial integrity is one of the unavoidable principles.”

Jilani also stated, "There was good communication at the level of foreign ministers and the army and military forces, which was able to solve the recent problem quickly,” emphasizing, “We believe that the security of Iran and Pakistan is the security of the region.”

Iran and Pakistan's most recent history

Iran launched on January 16 simultaneous drone and missile attacks on two bases of Jaish ul-Adl, a terrorist group formed in 2012, in Pakistan and has initiated several attacks on Iran in recent years.

In December 2023, Jaish ul-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack on a police station in the southeastern city of Rask that killed at least 11 Iranian police officers. Then on January 10, they further attacked another police station, killing one officer.

On January 17, Pakistan also carried out strikes against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran, in response to Iran's attacks, which created tension between the neighboring countries, exacerbated by the summoning of envoys.

However, after many soothing exchanges and statements, Pakistan’s new Ambassador to Tehran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu and Iran’s Ambassador to Islamabad Reza Amiri Moqaddam each returned to their respective posts on Friday, which was crowned by today's meeting.