People gather near rubble in the aftermath of Pakistan's military strike on an Iranian village near Saravan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, Jan 18, 2024, in this screen grab from social media video obtained by Reuters. (PHOTO / REUTERS)
TEHRAN/UNITED NATIONS - Iran on Thursday slammed Pakistan's "unbalanced and unacceptable" act of launching a drone attack on a border village in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
In a statement published on its website, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Iran considers its people's security and territorial integrity as its red lines, while remaining committed to "the policy of good neighborliness and brotherhood" between the two peoples and governments.
The ministry reacted to the deadly strikes launched by Pakistan earlier in the day on a village in Saravan county, which Pakistan said were aimed at targeting "terrorist hideouts".
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Iran strongly urged the Pakistani government to adhere to its obligations in preventing the "establishment of bases and the deployment of armed terrorist groups on its soil", the statement said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the exchange of military strikes between Iran and Pakistan, urging both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a further escalation of tensions
The Pakistani attack came after Iran killed two Pakistani children in a strike on Tuesday on "terrorist bases" in Pakistan's Balochistan province.
The Iranian ministry said the Tuesday attack aimed at eliminating the threat against the Iranian people posed by terrorists who prepared to infiltrate the Iranian territory to carry out another terrorist operation.
It vowed not to let the enemies and their terrorist allies strain its good ties with Pakistan, particularly at a time when dealing with Israel's crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is the Muslim world's top priority issue.
READ MORE: Iran pays attention to Pakistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity
Alireza Marhamati, deputy governor for security and law enforcement in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, said Thursday that three drone strikes by Pakistan killed 10 Pakistanis and destroyed four residential houses in the Iranian border village.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in Tehran to voice Iran's official protest against Pakistan's military move.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the exchange of military strikes between Iran and Pakistan, urging both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a further escalation of tensions, according to Guterres’ spokesman.
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"The secretary-general underlines that all security concerns between the two countries must be addressed by peaceful means, through dialogue and cooperation, in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and good neighborly relations," the spokesman said in a statement.