NEW YORK (Web Desk) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the current tensions between Pakistan and Iran, urging them to de-escalate and resolve all their issues peacefully.
The UN Secretary-General in a statement asked both sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any further escalation.
Antonio Guterres underlines that all security concerns between the two countries must be addressed by peaceful means in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and good neighbourly relations.
Also Read: Biden says Pakistan strikes show Iran not 'well-liked' in region
US President Joe Biden said Thursday that air strikes by Pakistan and Iran on each other's territory showed Tehran was not "well-liked", as the White House warned against any escalation. Tensions between nuclear-armed Islamabad, a key US ally, and Washington's foe Tehran have soared after Iran struck alleged militant targets in Pakistan and Pakistan responded in kind.
The situation has also added to broader tensions in and around the Middle East, where Iran's proxies are in confrontation with Israel and the United States following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
"As you can see, Iran is not particularly well liked in the region," Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about the clashes.
Biden said the United States was now trying to understand how the Iran-Pakistan situation would develop, adding: "Where that goes we're working on now -- I don't know where that goes." White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States was monitoring the situation "very, very closely" and was in touch with Pakistani officials.
"These are two well-armed nations and again we don't want to see an escalation of any armed conflict in the region, certainly between those two countries," Kirby told journalists aboard Air Force One.