TEHRAN, Iran: President Masoud Pezeshkian said Pakistan and Afghanistan blocked Iran’s border incursions during what he called a 40-day war.
Pezeshkian made the claim Saturday during a Tehran press conference marking Iran’s National Journalists’ Day.
Arab Times reported that armed groups attacked Iranian posts in the northwest and southeast and tried to cross into Iran.
Pezeshkian said Pakistan and Afghanistan deployed groups and barred their territories from use in efforts to destabilise Iran.
However, he did not identify the armed groups, specify the locations of individual attacks, or disclose casualties from the alleged incursions.
The report provided no independent evidence and carried no immediate response from Pakistan or Afghanistan. Iran’s presidential website listed its conference summary.
However, the official summary did not repeat the specific border-incursion claim reported by Arab Times. Pezeshkian also said Tehran retaliated against attacks launched from United States bases in neighbouring countries.
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He did not identify the bases or countries involved in that assertion. The Iranian president separately said the current period offered the best opportunity for an agreement with Washington.
He argued that war alone could not resolve outstanding disputes and said Tehran remained committed to diplomacy.
Iran’s official conference summary said Pezeshkian defended negotiations while maintaining Iran’s military and defensive capabilities.
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It also said Iran’s leadership and national-security structures held final authority over war and peace decisions. Pakistan has played a wider diplomatic role in the conflict.
Iran’s presidency said in June that Islamabad helped mediate an Iran-US memorandum intended to end hostilities.
Pezeshkian credited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for assisting those talks.
