Iran Armed Forces ready for full cooperation with Pakistan in anti-terror fight: Top general

Iran’s highest-ranking military commander says the country’s Armed Forces are ready to improve all-out cooperation with Pakistan in the battle against terrorism.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the statement in a message to Pakistan’s Chief of the Army General Asim Munir on Saturday.

Baqeri condemned the “savage, anti-religious and anti-human” terrorist bombings at two mosques in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday, which killed at least 60 people and injured more than 70 others.

He expressed disappointment over the terrorist attack which killed innocent Pakistani people attending a ceremony to celebrate the birthday anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The top Iranian general expressed confidence that the perpetrators behind the crime would be identified, arrested and punished soon with the efforts of the Pakistani armed forces and the security and judicial bodies.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, from which the death toll could climb, with many people seriously injured and others having been trapped beneath the wreckage.

In a message to his Pakistani counterpart Arif Alvi on Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi condemned the terrorist bombings in Pakistan, saying Tehran is firmly ready to counter extremism in all its forms.

Over the recent years, Tehran and Islamabad have been working towards enhancing relations, not least bilateral economic ties and mutual efforts aimed at combating terrorism in the areas that straddle the border.