ISLAMABAD—Pakistan withdrew its ambassador from neighboring Iran on Wednesday to protest a "blatant breach" of its sovereignty, after Tehran claimed to have launched missile attacks on terrorist facilities in southern Pakistan.
Iran's foreign minister stated that the country used "missile and drone" operations to target terrorist groups. According to state media, Iranian missiles hit two bases of the Sunni Muslim organization Jaish al-Adl, which the United States has labeled as a "foreign terrorist organisation." State Department.
Pakistan stated that a breach of its airspace resulted in the deaths of two children, but has not confirmed the type of the violation or the location of the attacks.
Only terrorists were targeted, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Forum, adding that those attacked were related to Israel.
Pakistan and Iran have already had strained ties, but the strikes constitute the most visible cross-border intrusion in recent years.
The strikes come a day after Tehran carried out similar attacks in its neighbours, Iraq and Syria. Baghdad withdrew its ambassador from Tehran after Iran's state-run media claimed it had targeted an Israeli spy center.
Pakistani provincial officials said that two children were killed and numerous others were injured in strikes near the Iranian border.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign ministry, described the breach as unjustified and unacceptable. Pakistan reserved "the right to respond to this illegal act," a message it has sent to the Iranian authorities, she stated.
Ms. Baloch stated that Pakistan would not allow Iran's ambassador, who was presently visiting his home country, to return.
A joint border trade committee meeting had been postponed, and a Pakistani commercial delegation had been withdrawn from Chabahar, Iran, according to government spokesman Aurangzeb Badini.
Jaish al-Adl has already carried out assaults against Iranian security troops along the border with Pakistan.
Officials in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Iran, reported four missiles struck the Panjgur area near the border.
“Four missiles were fired in the village of Koh-i-Sabaz which is around 50 km (31 miles) inside Pakistan soil,” a senior official of the Panjgur administration told Reuters.
“A mosque and three houses were damaged in the attack,” another official said, adding that two young girls were killed and three other people injured.
Jaish al-Adl, which claims to desire more rights and better living conditions for ethnic minority Baluchis, has claimed responsibility for multiple recent attacks on Iranian security personnel in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
Previously known as Jundallah, the group declared allegiance to the ISIS terrorist organization located in Iraq and Syria.
According to an Iranian foreign ministry statement, Iran's Amirabdollahian spoke via phone with his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani, emphasizing Tehran's support for Pakistan's sovereignty.
“Iran’s security has been repeatedly targeted by Jaish al- Adl terrorist group from Pakistani soil and we are hopeful that stronger security cooperation between the two countries continue,” Mr. Amirabdollahian said.
