Iran’s foreign minister held a phone conversation on Friday with his Pakistani counterpart, calling for closer cooperation in various fields including fighting terrorism.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran attaches importance to brotherly relations with Pakistan in line with its neighborhood-first policy.
“It is appropriate to seriously follow security and military cooperation that was agreed upon and stressed by the two countries’ authorities in the past,” he said.
Stressing Tehran’s respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Amir-Abdollahian added, “Cooperation of the two countries to neutralize and destroy terrorist camps in Pakistan is essential.”
The top Iranian diplomat said the need for unity among Muslim countries is “felt more than ever” amid the genocidal Israeli onslaught on Gaza.
Amir-Abdollahian touched on the recent Iranian operation against the Jaysh al-Adl terrorist group in Pakistan, saying the operation was quickly carried out to neutralize an imminent terrorist threat.
He said Iran’s intelligence showed at the time that over fifty terrorists were preparing for anti-Iran terror attacks in Pakistan.
“Iran’s security forces in their operational bases confront any terrorist operation at the very beginning and do not allow terrorists to take operational action.”
Jalil Abbas Jilani echoed the Iranian minister’s calls for closer cooperation, saying the Pakistani nation and government feel special respect for Iran, and seek to expand ties in various fields.
“We are two long-standing Muslim neighbors,” he said, noting that a shared viewpoint on fighting terrorism forms the core of Iran-Pakistan bilateral ties.
Islamabad has always stressed the “brotherly” and “constructive” ties with Iran, adding, “Terrorism is our common enemy and terrorists and enemies of Tehran-Islamabad relations should not be allowed to abuse [issues to create tension].”
“Cooperation and brotherhood is the basis of our work,” he said.
The Pakistani minister also extended an invitation to Amir-Abdollahian to visit Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Iran launched simultaneous drone and missile attacks into two bases of Jaish al-Adl.
The group, which was formed in 2012, has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.
The group claimed responsibility for an attack in December on a police station in the southeastern city of Rask that killed at least 11 Iranian police officers. On January 10, another attack by the group on a police station in the city killed a policeman.
The strike came after Iran launched missile attacks on spy headquarters and terrorist targets in Syria and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
On Thursday, Pakistan carried out strikes against it called bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army in regions close to the border between the two countries.
Iran condemned that attack as unacceptable and unbalanced.
