Brussels, Belgium: The European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed deep concern about the spiral of violence in the Middle East and beyond after Pakistan and Iran struck each other’s territory.
EU spokesman Peter Stano said these attacks, including in Pakistan in Iraq and Iran now are of utmost concern for the European body. He said the development have a destabilizing effect on the region.
Meanwhile, Russia on Thursday urged Islamabad and Tehran to de-escalate tensions after Pakistan launched strikes against militant targets in Iran. Earlier Iran carried out attacks on Pakistan’s territory drawing strong reaction from Islamabad.
Russia urges Islamabad, Tehran to de-escalate tensions
The foreign ministry said in a statement that Russia is watching with concern the escalation of the situation in the Iran-Pakistan border area that has been growing in recent days.
“We call on the parties to exercise maximum restraint and to resolve emerging issues exclusively through political and diplomatic means,” it said.
China has also said it is willing to mediate between Pakistan and Iran after the recent developments between the two sides.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press briefing in Beijing that her side sincerely hopes that the two nations can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension.
She said that China is willing to play a constructive role to de-escalate the situation if both countries so wish.
Pakistan foreign ministry has announced that Islamabad launched a series of precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province. Code-named ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar,’ the Intelligence-based operation targeted terrorists responsible for heinous attacks on innocent Pakistanis.
It said despite persistent engagement with Iran over several years, concerns about safe havens for Pakistani origin terrorists remained unaddressed, leading to the codenamed operation.
Pakistan military’s media wing said on Thursday that Pakistani forces carried out effective strikes against hideouts inside Iran used by terrorists responsible for recent attacks in Pakistan in early hours of 18 January.
In a statement, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the precision strikes were carried out using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons. The statement added that maximum care was taken to avoid collateral damage.
Earlier, the United States had condemned recent Iranian strikes in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, which Tehran claimed were carried out against anti-Iranian terrorist groups.
“So we do condemn those strikes. We’ve seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbors in just the past couple of days,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
