Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statements condemning Pakistan’s missile strike into its territory, calling it ‘unbalanced and unacceptable’.

“At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran adheres to the policy of good neighborliness and brotherhood between the two nations and the two governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan,” the statement added.

Calling Iran’s territorial integrity a ‘red line’, the statement said that Pakistan should adhere to the ‘obligation’ that it will not allow its land to be used by terrorists. The statement refers to Pakistan’s government as ‘brotherly and friendly’.

The statement said Pakistan’s drone attack was unacceptable and had targeted ‘non-Iranian villagers’ in the border region.

It also clarified that Iran’s strike inside Balochistan on January 16 was a ‘preventive action’ againt a group preparing to launch attacks in Iran.

“The action was carried out against the terrorist group’s barracks and headquarters located in the heights of the region, kilometers away from residential areas,” it said, adding that Iran had a duty to ‘proportionately’ deal with such threats.

The statement came hours after Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Inter-Services Public Relations confirmed that terrorist hideouts inside Iran had been targeted using ‘killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons’.

However, the statement by Iran also clarified that it differentiates between Pakistan’s government and terrorists.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran always adheres to its policy of good neighborliness and does not allow its enemies and terrorist allies to strain these relations,” the statement said, adding that the crimes of ‘genocide’ by Israel’s Zionist regime was the main issue facing Pakistan right now.

Pakistan foreign office has strongly protested the violation of the country’s airspace by Iran in a strike that killed two children and even expelled Iran’s ambassador from the country.

This had been followed by Pakistan’s own strikes into Iran’s terrirtory on terrorist hideouts. However, no official death toll had been released so far.