Chief of General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, warned on Monday that Tehran will intervene if terrorist presence in Pakistan is not addressed and eliminated “immediately”.
The Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Bagheri as saying that if training camps and their activities in some areas of Pakistan continue “for any reason whatsoever,” Iran will immediately intervene.
Bagheri said that the country will exercise this option if “it needs to” as it is Tehran’s “international and legitimate right” as per the United Nations Charter.
“Pakistan bears great responsibility in terms of defending its borders and purging neighboring lands with Iran from terror groups,” he said.
Bagheri said that terrorists set up secret bases in Tehran. He also accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of training, equipping and organizing these groups in order to destabilize Iran.
Commenting on last week’s suicide car bomb, that killed at least 27 members of the Revolutionary Guard, Bagheri said that talks with Pakistani leaders have already started.
He said that a team of Pakistani officials visited Iran and discussions are taking place with the Pakistani leadership.
“We asked the Pakistani authorities to either purge the territories where terrorist groups are stationed or to allow Iranian forces to enter these (areas) and confront them,” Bagheri said.
He said that the Pakistani army started an operation in the Balochistan region on Sunday but added that these efforts may not yield the desired results. As a result, Iran and Pakistan continue to discuss ways to ensure security.
During another meeting with the country’s armed forces personnel in Qom, Bagheri spoke of Iran’s capability to tackle such threats.
He said that all of Iran’s borders are secure and the country’s military and defense units are ready to respond to any threat even if it is kilometers away from its borders.
Source » alarabiya