TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has announced that Iran and Pakistan are committed to strengthening their cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts.

This comes after meetings with Pakistani officials on the activities of regional terrorist groups during his visit to Pakistan.

Following a series of consultations, Araghchi reported that both nations reached several significant agreements, underscoring a unified approach to addressing mutual security concerns. "We held very productive meetings, and we made important agreements. Our discussions on regional developments revealed that Iran and Pakistan’s positions are closely aligned,” Araghchi stated to reporters on Wednesday.

The talks covered a range of security issues, particularly focusing on the instability in Afghanistan and the urgent need to address terrorism affecting the border regions between Iran and Pakistan. Araghchi highlighted that the shared border areas are frequent targets of violent extremist groups, emphasizing the necessity of coordinated action and information-sharing to enhance border security.

Araghchi also pointed to what he described as a “close link” between these terrorist organizations and Israel, accusing them of acting in coordination to destabilize Iran. According to Araghchi, terrorist groups escalated their attacks on the same day Israel reportedly launched aggressive actions against Iran, resulting in the tragic loss of ten Iranian police officers. "Our friends in Pakistan’s government share our perspective on this, and we have agreed to step up our operations against these terrorist groups and improve our level of coordination,” he emphasized.

The meetings further explored various dimensions of Iran-Pakistan relations, with Araghchi noting that there are significant opportunities for collaboration beyond security, particularly in economic, political, cultural, and social spheres. He highlighted the strong people-to-people connections between the two countries, calling them vibrant and promising, as both sides work toward fostering these ties.

Araghchi also underscored Iran and Pakistan’s shared commitment to supporting Palestinian rights and condemning what he described as Israel's “longstanding genocide and violence” against Palestinians. He noted that both nations are actively advocating on this issue in international forums, stressing the need to address and resolve the Palestinian crisis.

The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Islamabad on Monday for a two-day visit, during which he held discussions with his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar. Their talks focused on addressing regional security challenges, including the Palestinian issue. Araghchi also met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where the discussions centered on counter-terrorism cooperation and strengthening bilateral relations.

This visit follows a recent surge in violence in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, where, on October 26, ten Iranian border guards were killed in an attack near the Pakistan border. Local police reported that the ambush occurred in Taftan County’s Gohar Kuh district, where gunmen attacked police vehicles. The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group, based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for this incident, marking it as one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the region in recent months.

This escalation of violence has underscored the urgency of the cooperative measures agreed upon by Iran and Pakistan to counter these threats, aiming to secure both nations’ border areas from future attacks.