WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden Thursday said that the clashes between Iran and Pakistan show that Iran is not well-liked in the region as the White House said it does not want to see an escalation.
On Thursday, Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran, in a retaliatory attack two days after Tehran said it struck the bases of another terrorist group within Pakistani territory.
“As you can see Iran is not particularly well liked in the region and where that goes, we’re working on now. I don’t know where that goes,” Biden said.
The US has been locked in a test of wills with Iran over its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been launching attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew to North Carolina that Washington is monitoring the Iran-Pakistan clashes closely.
“We don’t want to see an escalation clearly in South and Central Asia. And we’re in touch with our Pakistani counterparts,” Kirby said and added the attack on Pakistan was another example of Iran’s destabilizing behaviour in the region.
