Iran has described a deadly drone attack by Pakistan as “unbalanced and unacceptable” as the two countries’ brinkmanship risks a regional conflict.
The furious response came hours after Pakistan launched airstrikes, killing at least nine people, on militant targets in Iran.
The strikes were in retaliation to a similar air raid by Iran less than 48 hours before.
They both aimed at the same targets, the ethnic Baloch military groups, who have been fighting for independence in both Iran and Pakistan.
Responding to Islamabad’s strikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran condemns the unbalanced and unacceptable action of Pakistan in the drone attack on non-Iranian citizens in the villages on the border wall of the two countries.”
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“Iran celebrated [Tuesday’s] attack in its media and the Pakistani public perception of a strong army is not as it used to be, so it had to respond.”
The Pakistani military, a significant political force in the country, needed to appear strong in the upcoming election.
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry stated they carried out “a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes” based on “credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities”.
They pledged an “unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats.”
