TEHRAN - Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has announced that Iran is ready to hold negotiations with Pakistan over the issues of security and counter-terrorism.

The Islamic Republic believes that establishing regional security and tackling the issue of cross-border terrorism require considerable efforts and full-fledged cooperation among regional countries, Mehmanparast said at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
Regional countries can play a significant role at this juncture, and thus negotiation with Pakistan is high on the agenda, he added.
The fact that some Western countries have condemned the recent terrorist attack in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan is a step in the right direction, but actions speak louder than words, he noted.
However, Western countries should stop providing safe havens for terrorists and cut all channels of communication with them, he suggested.
Two suicide bomb attacks left 27 people dead and about 300 people injured in Zahedan on July 15.
The terrorist group Jundullah has claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a statement posted on its web site, Jundullah described the attacks as retaliation for Iran’s June 21 execution of the group’s former ringleader, Abdolmalek Rigi.
Iran executed Abdolmalek Rigi a month after his brother Abdulhamid Rigi, who had been captured in Pakistan in 2008 and extradited to Iran, was hanged in Zahedan.
Zahedan is the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Some parts of Pakistan have become safe havens for terrorist groups who seek to destabilize Iran’s border regions. After launching their attacks in Iranian territory, they flee across the border into Pakistan.
Many analysts, including a number of former senior CIA officials, are of the opinion that the United States is supporting Jundullah in order to pressure Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program