Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman has condemned the recent terrorist attack on its border guards and urged Islamabad to enhance security at its borders with Iran.

Five Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with armed terrorists and anti-Islamic Revolution groups in Sistan and Baluchestan late on Saturday.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan'ani made a statement on Sunday. He said the “cowardly act of terror” undermined the security and interests of Iran and Pakistan.

Local media reports said the attack was carried out by “a terrorist group which intended to infiltrate the country’s border” but “fled to the other side of the border after the confrontation.”

Two days before the deadly exchange of fire, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met at the zero-border point in Iran’s southeast to open a first of six border marketplaces that they said would lead to a significant rise in cross-border trade.

“While condemning this evil act, the Islamic Republic of Iran expects the Pakistani government to implement the agreements between the two countries to suppress terrorist groups as soon as possible and to try to improve the security of the common borders,” Kan'ani stated.

“Certainly, the goal of these terrorist groups is to disrupt the security of the common borders and the security of the people living on the border of the two countries.”

Kan’ani said Iran places a premium on expanding security in the region and the development of cooperation.

The spokesman of Baluchistan Government in Pakistan, Farah Azeem Shah, also condemned the terrorist attack in the border region of Saravan.

Stressing that the purpose of such acts of terror was to harm the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Iran, Azeem Shah said, “The time has come for the governments and nations of Iran and Pakistan to send a strong message to these elements.”

The Pakistani official said such cowardly behavior cannot disrupt friendly relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Our joint trade and border development projects will not be affected by this issue and Iran-Pakistan interactions will be further strengthened.”