Timber China calls for the neighbours to exercise “calm and restraint”, US pins the blame on Iran while India stays neutral.
Dawn.com
Published
January 18, 2024
Pakistan on Thursday struck terrorist hideouts in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, less than 48 hours after Iran violated its airspace.
According to Iran’s news agency IRNA, the strikes saw nine people killed, including four children, three women and two men.
Pakistan’s response came two days after Iran conducted strikes against what it described as “terrorist” targets in Pakistan, killing at least two children.
Several global powers and regional stakeholders have reacted to the development, with most urging the neighbours to opt for dialogue instead of letting the situation deteriorate further.
China
Beijing called for “calm and restraint”, and offered to mediate between the two countries.
“The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference, adding: “We are also willing to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation if both sides so wish. “
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson reiterated that it hoped for both parties to resolve their disputes through consultations and dialogue.
United States
The United States, which rarely sees eye to eye with Tehran, condemned the Iranian strikes in Pakistan, as well as Iraq and Syria.
US President Joe Biden said that the clashes showed that Iran was not well-liked in the region.
“As you can see Iran is not particularly well-liked in the region and where that goes, we’re working on now. I don’t know where that goes,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement released before Pakistan’s counterstrikes were carried out: “So we do condemn those strikes. We’ve seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbours in just the past couple of days.
“I think it is a little rich for, on one hand, Iran to be the leading funder of terrorism in the region, the leading funder of instability in the region, and on the other hand, claimed that it needs to take these actions to counter-terrorism.”
India
India’s official spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaiswal was neutral in his remarks, saying: “This is a matter between Iran and Pakistan.
“Insofar as India is concerned, we have an uncompromising position of zero tolerance towards terrorism. We understand actions that countries take in their self defense.”
Turkiye
Turkiye’s foreign ministry called for Iran, Iraq and Pakistan to show “restraint and common sense”.
“We believe the problems should be resolved with an understanding of friendship and brotherhood, based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, after holding phone calls with counterparts from both the countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that neither wants to escalate tensions in the region.
During a press conference in Jordan, Fidan said Turkey had told both Iran and Pakistan to restore calm as soon as possible.
Afghanistan
The Taliban foreign ministry, in a statement, said that the two neighbouring countries “should resolve disputed issues through diplomacy and dialogue”.
Russia
Russia’s foreign ministry called on Iran and Pakistan to show maximum restraint and solve their differences through diplomacy or risk playing into the hands of those who would like to see the region descend into chaos.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement noted that the two countries are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a grouping that Russia helped found.
“It is regrettable that this is happening between friendly SCO countries, with which we are developing partnership relations. Further aggravation of the situation plays into the hands of those who are not interested in peace, stability and security in the region,” said Zakharova.
Any anti-terrorist operation on another country’s sovereign territory had to be carried out in agreement and coordination with the authorities of that country, she said.
European Union
The European Union said it was deeply worried about the “spiral of violence in the Middle East and beyond” after Pakistan and Iran struck each other’s territory.
“These attacks, including in Pakistan in Iraq and Iran now are of utmost concern for the European Union because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and they have also a destabilising effect on the region,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.
Additional input from AFP and Reuters