Iran-Pakistan clash shows Iran is not well-liked in region: Biden

WASHINGTON: United States President Joe Biden said that the clashes between Iran and Pakistan this week show that Iran is not well-liked in the region as the White House said it does not want to see an escalation.

Pakistan launched strikes on separatist militants inside Iran on Thursday, in a retaliatory attack two days after Tehran said it struck the bases of another group within Pakistani territory.

“As you can see Iran is not particularly well liked in the region and where that goes, we’re working on now. I don’t know where that goes,” Biden said.

The United States has been locked in a test of wills with Iran over its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been launching attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Air Force One as Biden flew to North Carolina that Washington is monitoring the Iran-Pakistan clashes closely.

“We don’t want to see an escalation clearly in South and Central Asia. And we’re in touch with our Pakistani counterparts,” Kirby said.

Earlier, the United States condemned recent Iranian airstrikes in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, the State Department said, hoping that Islamabad and Tehran would resolve the issue peacefully.

Speaking at a press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller condemned the Iranian strikes and said Washington wanted to see peace and stability maintained in the region.

“We do condemn those strikes. We’ve seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbors in just the past couple days,” Miller told reporters in Washington.

“Certainly, we always want to see peace and stability maintained, especially in this region, where it’s been the focus of our diplomatic efforts since October 7th.”

The statement came a day after Pakistan said Iran had violated its airspace and attacked a border village, killing two children and injured three women.

Iranian said the “missile and drone” attack targeted the Pakistan headquarters of Jaish Al-Adl, a group formed in 2012 and blacklisted by Iran as a “terrorist group.”