Tehran Says Risk of War With Israel Great, Reportedly Summons Pakistan's Envoy

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Pakistani envoy to the country, protesting what they described as the provision of a safe haven for militant groups, Tasnim news agency reported.

"After the February 13 attack… the Pakistani ambassador, Mrs. Riffat Masood, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry. We are voicing our protest over the increasing number of terror attacks in Pakistan as well as the recent attack on the Khash-Zahedan road… Iran expects the Pakistani government and army to take necessary measures… against active terror groups in the Pakistani areas bordering Iran," Qassemi said, as quoted by the Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Tehran also asked Islamabad to take urgent measures to find and arrest terrorists who operated in the area near the site of the attack on Wednesday.

At the same time, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that Tehran was ready to "work with regional states to preserve security in the Middle East":

"We want to establish brotherly ties with all countries of the region… Iran has never started any aggression in the region", he stated.

He went on to stress that Israel was "looking for war" and also slammed US actions in the Middle East.

"Certainly, some people are looking for war… Israel", Zarif said. "The risk is great and the risk will be even greater if you continue to turn a blind eye to severe violations of international law", he concluded, referring to Israel and the United States.

The move was made after a recent suicide attack half-way between the Iranian cities of Zahedan and Khash, when a car loaded with explosives rammed into a bus with IRGC servicemen. The assault and the following explosion killed 27 and injured 13 more.

Iran has repeatedly called on its neighbour to crack down on militants. The day before, chief commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Ali Jafari addressed Pakistan, urging them to tighten Islamabad's policy towards the al-Qaeda-linked Sunni Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group that claimed responsibility for Wednesday's bombing. According to Jafari, the Pakistani government "has sheltered these counter-revolutionary elements" that pose a danger to Islam and "knows their hideout, being supported by Pakistani security forces", should be held responsible for the terrorist attack.

READ MORE: Iran Warns S Arabia, UAE of Retaliation, Calls Out Pakistan Over Terror Attack

He also addressed Saudi Arabia and the UAE, calling them "conspiracies and reactionary regimes in the region" that "carry out these acts on orders from the US and the Zionist regime".

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