On January 17, Pakistan withdrew its ambassador in Tehran, expelled the Iranian ambassador in Islamabad, and suspended all high-level visits between the two countries after Iran launched an airstrike on Pakistani territory, claiming to be "destroying terrorists."
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| Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Iran have become strained following Iran's airstrike on Pakistani territory on January 16. (Source: Daily Beast) |
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed on January 17 that the country's military had carried out attacks against an "Iranian terrorist group", after neighboring Pakistan said the attacks had killed two local children.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Iranian representative stated: “In Pakistan, no citizen of any friendly and friendly country is the target of Iranian missiles and drones. The target is the Iranian terrorist group, called Jaish al-Adl.”
On the same day, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch said Iran had "blatantly violated" the country's airspace. Iran's airstrike that violated Pakistan's airspace killed two Pakistani children.
On January 17, Pakistan withdrew its ambassador in Tehran, expelled the Iranian ambassador in Islamabad, and suspended all high-level visits between the two countries.
Earlier on January 16, Iranian media reported that Tehran had launched a missile attack on two bases of the Jaish al Adl group - an Islamic militant group operating in southeastern Iran, near the Pakistani border. Pakistan accused Iran of violating its airspace.
A later update from Iran's Tasnim news agency said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abdullahian also had a phone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart. Tehran said it had repeatedly asked Pakistan to take action against the Jaish al-Adl group.
Jaish al-Adl, or Army of Justice, is a Sunni Muslim militant group that has previously carried out attacks on Iranian security forces in the border area with Pakistan.
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