• Pakistan terms unprecedented escalation “deeply disturbing”.
• Foreign Office urges all parties to adhere to international law.
• Islamabad stresses dialogue, diplomacy for resolution of crises.
  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned Sunday’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States and backed Tehran and its right of self-defence, citing violation of international law.

“Pakistan condemns US attacks on the nuclear facilities of Iran [….] We reiterate that these attacks violate all norms of international law and that Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself under the UN charter,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Islamabad’s condemnation comes in the wake of rising tensions in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington had carried out air strikes that “completely and totally obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear facilities including the Fordow nuclear enrichment plant along with the Natanz and Isfahan sites.

In a brief televised address, President Trump stressed Iran to “make peace” and warned of further attacks if the country failed to do so.

Reacting to the US strikes, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has slammed Washington’s action terming it as “outrageous” and warned of “everlasting consequences”.

“The US has committed a grave violation of the UN charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” he said in a statement on X.

“Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people,” he warned.

Meanwhile, expressing grave concern at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region in the aftermath of the US strikes, Pakistan warned that further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond.

“We emphasise the imperative need to respect civilian lives and properties and immediately bring the conflict to an end. All parties must adhere to international law, particularly international humanitarian law,” the FO statement noted.

“Recourse to dialogue, diplomacy, in line with the principles and purposes of the UN charter remains the only viable pathway to resolve the crises in the region,” it added.

The US attack on Iran is to be further interpreted in the context of historic friction between the two nations as Washington has squabbled with Tehran for nearly a half-century.

The Trump administration decided to go forward with the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities despite the fact that intelligence had not concluded that Iran was building a nuclear bomb, with Tehran’s sensitive atomic work largely seen as a means of leverage, and Iran can be presumed to have taken precautions in anticipation of strikes.

Trita Parsi, an outspoken critic of military action, said Trump “has now made it more likely that Iran will be a nuclear weapons state in the next five to 10 years.”

“We should be careful not to confuse tactical success with strategic success,” said Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

“The Iraq war was also successful in the first few weeks but President Bush’s declaration of ‘Mission Accomplished’ did not age well,” he said.

With additional input from AFP.