Recent terrorist attack to affect Iran – Pakistan relations

Tabnak – Four days after a deadly terrorist attack in southeastern Iran, which resulted in the death of a number of IRGC personnel, relations between Tehran and Islam Abad seem to have entered a period of tensions over Pakistan’s possible ties with the terrorist groups.

In this vein, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran, expressing the Islamic Republic’s “strong protest” to Islamabad over a deadly terrorist attack that targeted a group of security forces in southeastern Iran.

According to the ministry's press release on Sunday, Pakistani Ambassador Riffat Masood was called in for a diplomatic rebuke over a car bomb attack that targeted members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Sistan-and-Baluchestan Province on Wednesday.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said that Ambassador Masood had been informed that the Iranian government expected the Pakistani government and military to take “decisive and serious” action against the bases, movements, and entrenchment of terrorist groups along Pakistan’s border with Iran.

Iranian officials asked Pakistan to “prevent these terror groups from further intensifying insecurity, skepticism, and distrust between the countries,” according to Qassemi. Iran also urged Pakistan to take swift action to identify and arrest those behind the attack, Qassemi added.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says Islamabad should account for the recent terrorist attack. “The Pakistani government should be accountable for this act involving the grouplet orchestrating and conducting the operation from their (the Pakistanis’) territory,” Larijani said during a parliamentary session on Sunday, referring to the terrorist outfit that has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The [Iranian] Foreign Ministry and security apparatuses should seriously pursue the incident,” Larijani added. “At the current juncture, Pakistan cannot [be allowed to] act irresponsibly.”

He said that despite the “respect” Iran has for the government in neighboring Pakistani, “such behavior will severely damage the level of cooperation between the two countries.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says his country is ready for any kind of cooperation with Iran to probe into the recent terrorist attack. In a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday, Qureshi offered his condolences over the martyrdom of a number of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces in the terror attack near Iran-Pakistan border.

He further said a specialized delegation from Islamabad is planned to visit Iran later today for talks on the terror attack. Pakistan is ready for any cooperation to investigate the tragic incident and jointly fight against terrorist groups, the top diplomat added.

On Wednesday night when a number of IRGC forces were traveling between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, in Sistan and Balouchestan, their bus was hit by the suicide car bomb attack.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that the Iranian nation will “undoubtedly avenge” a recent terrorist attack that killed over two dozen members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), regretting the “wrong” policies of some of Iran’s neighbors.