US condemns Iranian strikes on Pakistan: State Dept

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday condemned recent Iranian strikes in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, which Tehran has claimed were carried out against "anti-Iranian terrorist groups." 

"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," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Reacting to Tehran's unilateral action of violating Pakistani airspace, Islamabad Wednesday warned the neighbouring country of stern consequences and announced expelling the Iranian ambassador while recalling its envoy from Tehran.

"Pakistan has decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and that the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan who is currently visiting Iran may not return for the time being," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said while addressing a press briefing in Islamabad.

Responding to the development, Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani told his Irani counterpart that no country should follow its path of launching an attack on a neighbouring nation's soil against the menace of terrorism unilaterally.

"No country in the region should tread this perilous path," Jilani told Iran’s FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian during a telephone call hours after Tehran claimed it had targeted "terrorists" in Pakistan.

The foreign minister added that Pakistan reserved the "right to respond to this provocative act".

Stressing that terrorism was a common threat to the region and required concerted and coordinated efforts to combat this menace, FM Jilani underlined that unilateral actions could seriously undermine regional peace and stability.

On January 17, Tehran targeted the bases of, what it claimed was a terrorist organisation — Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) — inside Pakistani territory, "Green Mountain" with drones and missiles, and destroyed the headquarters of the said terrorist group, according to the Iran's state media.

However, the FO spokesperson said the assault left two children killed and three others wounded.

Calling it an "unprovoked and blatant" breach of Pakistan's sovereignty by Iran, Islamabad termed the move as a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.