TEHRAN(IRNA) – Iran’s foreign ministry denounced Pakistan’s drone strike on civilians near the border as “unacceptable” and warned that Iran’s sovereignty is “a red line.”
“Iran’s security and territorial integrity are our red lines. We expect Pakistan, our friendly and brotherly neighbor, to prevent any bases and groups of armed terrorists from operating on its soil,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement said that Iran’s missile attack on a terrorist camp in Pakistan’s Balochistan on Tuesday was a “preemptive operation” after the IRGC forces in southeast Iran detected a terrorist plot to infiltrate and attack Iran.
“The IRGC took preventive action against this terrorist group at their base, far from any residential areas. This is part of the border forces’ duty to counter any imminent terrorist threats to our people and citizens,” it added.
“Iran is committed to its neighborly policy and will not let enemies and terrorist supporters harm these relations, especially when the Zionist regime’s genocide and crimes are the main concern of the Islamic world,” the statement said.
The full text of Iran’s foreign ministry statement is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
The Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the recent incidents on the Pakistan border
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns Pakistan’s disproportionate and unacceptable drone attack on non-Iranian villagers on the border of the two countries.
The Islamic Republic of Iran respects the good neighborliness and brotherhood between the two nations and the two governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan. It will not allow enemies to damage the friendly and brotherly relations of Tehran and Islamabad.
The Islamic Republic of Iran regards the security of its people and its territorial integrity as a red line and firmly expects the friendly and brotherly government of Pakistan to fulfill its obligations in preventing the establishment and activity of armed terrorist groups on its territory.
On Tuesday, 16 January 2024, the Border Taskforce of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force, located in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, carried out a preventive action against a terrorist group that was preparing to infiltrate the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran and carry out another terrorist operation similar to the criminal and terrorist attack in Rask. The action was carried out against the terrorist group’s barracks and headquarters situated in the heights of the region, kilometers away from residential areas––a measure that is part of the inherent duties of the border forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran to “proportionately deal” with any “imminent terrorist threat” to the people and citizens of the country.
It is emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran distinguishes between Pakistan’s friendly and brotherly government and armed terrorists. The Islamic Republic of Iran always adheres to its policy of good neighborliness and does not allow its enemies and terrorist allies to harm these relations, especially when the genocide and crimes of the Zionist regime are the foremost issue affecting the Islamic world.
Iran Summons Pakistan’s Diplomat Following Missile Attack, Targets Jaish al-Adl
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has called upon Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in protest of a missile strike from the neighboring country on a southeastern Iranian village near Saravan last Thursday.
The missile attack from Pakistan resulted in the death of nine individuals, including three women and four children, none of whom held Iranian nationality.
In response to the attack, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement affirming the country’s respect for the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic. The statement, delivered by spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra, expressed Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to find a joint solution to the issue.
Reports from Tuesday night (two days prior) indicated that positions of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group in the volatile Baluchistan region, bordering Iran, were attacked.
In a related development, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, clarified that the targets of Tuesday night’s cross-border airstrikes were “Iranian terrorists present on Pakistani soil,” emphasizing that the targets were members of Jaish al-Adl, not Pakistani citizens.
