Iran urges 'friendly, brotherly' Pakistan to monitor terrorist bases
3 Min Read
The Iranian statement assures that Tehran would not allow terrorism to strain its relations with neighborly countries.
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A police officer stands guard at the main entry gate of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad, Pakistan on Jan. 18, 2024. (AP)
Iran has addressed "the friendly and brotherly government of Pakistan" following Islamabad's overnight strikes in Iran on Thursday, urging the neighboring country to prevent the construction of "terrorist bases" on its territory.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that the Pakistani military carried out military strikes against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran, shortly after Tehran attacked positions of the Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group in Pakistan.
Iranian state media reported that three women and four children were killed after the explosions resonated across the country's southeast.
Jaish ul-Adl also confirmed in a statement that its positions were hit in the long-range strikes carried out by the IRGC late Monday, Mehr reported. The group said that at least six suicide drones and several missiles hit the militants' sites in the border mountains of Pakistan's Balochistan.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry responded by condemning the attack as vocalized by Nasser Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Thursday.
According to the Iranian statement, although Iran adheres to “good neighborliness and brotherhood" with Pakistan, this does not "allow the enemies to darken the good and fraternal relations between the two countries, it considers the security of the people and the territorial integrity of the country as its red line."
Pakistan declared on Wednesday suspending all high-level visits scheduled with Iran in the coming days, recalled its ambassador to Tehran, and announced that the Iranian envoy to Islamabad, who is currently visiting his country, "may not return for the time being."
The statement added that Tehran "expects the friendly and brotherly government of Pakistan to adhere to its commitments in preventing the establishment of bases and armed terrorist groups on Pakistan's soil."
According to the Foreign Ministry, the border outpost of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan dismantled a Jaish ul-Adl terror cell that was planning a terrorist attack and took preventative action needed against the terrorist group.
“This procedure is part of the inherent duties of the border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to deal with any imminent terrorist threat against the people and citizens of the country,” the statement detailed.
The Iranian statement made sure to differentiate between the government of Pakistan, whom it called a "friend and brother," and the armed terrorists, reiterating that Tehran "always adheres to its neighborly policy and does not allow its enemies and terrorist allies to strain these relations," particularly when the center of focus in the Islamic world should be the Israeli crimes of Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
