When Iran and Pakistan traded airstrikes this week, both targeting what they said were militant camps, the exchange raised fears that the upheaval sweeping the Middle East was moving into new territory.
To Pakistan, which was hit first, it was important to send a clear message that violations of its sovereignty would not be tolerated.
Pakistan signaled that it was seeking de-escalation by calling the two nations “brotherly countries” and urging dialogue and cooperation, language that Iran echoed in a statement of its own on Friday.
Pakistan’s appeal, analysts said, underlined a plain fact: It could hardly be in a worse position to fight a war.
And already at odds with its archrival India, it has seen a souring of its once-friendly relations with the Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan.
Organizations:
archrival
Locations:
Iran, Pakistan, archrival India, Afghanistan