Iran has urged the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to de-escalate rising tensions in the wake of overnight strikes, following months of deteriorating relations between the neighbouring countries.
Tehran is “ready to provide any assistance to facilitate dialogue,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media platform X on Friday.
“During the holy month of Ramadan, a month of restraint and strengthening solidarity in the Islamic world, it is appropriate for Afghanistan and Pakistan to manage and resolve existing differences within the framework of good neighbourliness and through dialogue,” he said.
The Iranian government maintains close contacts with Pakistan. Its relationship with the Taliban is considered tense but pragmatic.
Tehran has not officially recognized the Islamists since they took power in 2021.
Overnight, the long-simmering tensions between the Taliban government in Kabul and Pakistan escalated sharply, with Pakistani forces striking military targets inside Afghanistan in response to cross-border attacks by the Taliban.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan — an allegation the Islamist Taliban deny.
