Iran has right to hit terrorists on Pakistan’s soil if attacks continue
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said on Monday that Iran reserves the right to act against terrorists’ hideouts inside Pakistan’s territory if their activities continue.
“If activity of terrorists’ training centers and hideouts in Pakistan continue, Iran has the right to act against the centers under the United Nations Charter,” Baqeri said, IRNA reported.
He made the remarks days after an explosives-laden car rammed into a bus carrying members of Islamic Revolution Guardian Corps on a road in Sistan-baluchestan Province, killing 27 people and wounding 13 others.
Baqeri warned that a “fiery revenge” awaits Jaish ul-adl, which claimed responsibility, and other terrorist groups funded by regional Arab regimes such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“If a group is holed up in Pakistan using Saudi and Emirati money, carrying out such acts of terror by sending in some people, they should know that the flames of the Iranian nation’s revenge will burn them to ashes,” the general asserted, according to Press TV.
General Baqeri said Pakistan needed to put more effort into securing its borders with Iran, which stretches beyond 1,000 kilometers.
He said although Iran has secured large chunks of the border, some parts are left open by the Pakistani side and are being used by terrorist groups to freely roam between the two countries.
Anti-terror operation underway
General Baqeri said the Pakistani Army had already started an antiterror operation using Iranian intelligence.
“It is possible that this effort won’t be effective but we will keep the pressure and continue negotiations with Pakistan until we make sure this terrorist group is eradicated from Sistan-baluchestan,” he added.
Iran-pakistan cooperation
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday Islamabad have rejected and always condemned such activity, according to Pakistan’s Geo TV.
“Iran is our neighbor and we would not want to cause any problem for them. We respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity. And I am sure they respect ours,” Qureshi told reporters in a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-jubeir.
“We have been dealing with these situations in the past and have cooperated with each other to overcome these difficulties and we will do so in the future as well,” he added.
“Intensive negotiations have been held between Iran and Pakistan over the past days and Pakistan has been given the necessary warnings about the principles that it needs to adhere to,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the IRGC said Monday that it had captured some members of the team behind the bombing, including three terrorists ready to blow up 150kg of explosives.