High-Level Talks Expected as Pakistan and Iran work to Ease Tensions after Cross-Border Strikes

Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Iran are expected to hold talks over telephone as the two sides began to pick threads of tattered ties following their missile strikes against alleged militants in each other’s land. After Pakistan conducted precision military strikes against what it called terrorist hideouts in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province and Iran launched a retaliatory attack on two bases of a Sunni Baloch militant group in Pakistan's Balochistan province, fears of escalation have been belying.Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian are expected to interact to ease tension between the two countries to resolve all issues through positive dialogue.

This high-level contact takes place as officials from both foreign ministries have exchanged messages of goodwill, showing that they are attempting to cool off the tensions sooner than they erupted. The exchange of positive messages between the Additional Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Rahim Hayat Qureshi and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, shows progress in diffusing of the situation. It's important for both countries to move forward as they have always had fraternal relations and terrorism requires coordinated action.

The United States and the United Nations have called for calm while expressing concern over the situation. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Pakistan's drone attack on non-Iranian villagers on the border and called it unacceptable.The tit-for-tat strikes raise questions about the preparedness of both countries' militaries and have also increased concerns about the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. The Election Commission of Pakistan stated that the elections will not be affected by the tensions and that they are determined to hold them as scheduled. Overall, efforts are being made to resolve the tensions between Pakistan and Iran and prevent any further escalations.