Hours after unidentified assailants gunned down at least nine Pakistani nationals, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a statement saying that Iran and Pakistan would not allow "enemies" to damage the brotherly relations between the two countries.
Kanaani condemned the attack and expressed his deepest condolences to the Government of Pakistan and the grieving families of the victims.
“Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, strongly condemned the armed attack which occurred… in the suburbs of the city of Saravan, which... unfortunately led to the death of nine Pakistani citizens and the injury of three people, and expressed condolences to the government Pakistan and the families of the victims,” the ministry posted on their official Telegram channel.
On Saturday, Pakistan's ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said nine Pakistanis had been killed in the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan.
“Deeply shocked by horrifying killing of nine Pakistanis in Saravan. Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families. Counsel Zahidan is already on his way to incident site and hospital where injured are under treatment.We called upon to extend full cooperation in the matter,” the Ambassador wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
No armed group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian media reported.
Pak-Iran Tensions Escalate Amid Mutual Strikes
On January 16, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite unit of the Iranian Armed Forces, declared that it had executed a targeted strike using ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on the primary base of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group. This decisive action took place in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, which shares a border with Iran.
Pakistan strongly condemned the Iranian attack and swiftly recalled its ambassador from Tehran. It also said that the Iranian ambassador's diplomatic mission in Islamabad would be temporarily suspended.
On 18 January, the Pakistani Foreign Office announced a series of attacks on terrorist hideouts in the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchistan. The operation was aimed at terrorist forces, known as 'sarmachars', who originate from Pakistan and have established themselves in ungoverned areas inside Iran.
The ministry declared that Pakistan's actions were aimed solely at safeguarding its own security and national interests, while stressing that the country respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
After careful consideration, both nations reinstated their ambassadors to their respective posts on 26 January.