TEHRAN – In a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian emphasized that Tehran attaches great significance to the security of its neighbor countries including Pakistan.

The top Iranian diplomat told Jalil Abbas Jilani that “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan” is extremely important to Iran. He, however, noted that Iran cannot sit idly by and let vicious terrorists spill the blood of its innocent civilians. 

“The group we targeted has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks on Iranian soil. No Pakistani civilians were targeted in this operation,” Amir Abdollahian stated. 

The Iranian foreign minister also hoped for the continuation of dialogue between the two countries, saying the exchange of views should continue based on mutual interest and must lead to stronger security cooperation. 

The Pakistani foreign minister, for his part, underscored the historic ties between Iran and Pakistan, while pointing out the two nations’ long-lasting endeavors in combatting terrorism.   

He also listed the numerous areas of cooperation between the two countries and requested the Iranian side to provide information related to terrorist groups on Pakistani soil for cooperation between the two countries.

Jilani emphasized that Islamabad expects the confrontation with terrorist groups in Pakistan to be carried out by Pakistani forces.

In December, a terrorist attack on a southeastern police station in Iran left 11 guards killed and 6 others injured. The Pakistan-based Jaish al-Adl terrorist group took responsibility for the attack. The headquarters of the Jaish al-Adl were pounded by a barrage of Iranian missiles on Tuesday, which destroyed the group’s terror infrastructure.

Iran says it officially asked Pakistan numerous times to rein in the terrorists in the past years, but Islamabad has not done enough to combat the group.