Pakistan, Iran agree to reduce tensions

Pakistan and Iran have agreed to reduce tensions after both countries exchanged drone and missile strikes on militant bases on each other's territory.

The United Nations and the United States have appealed for restraint, while China has offered to mediate.

On Friday, Pakistan expressed its willingness to work with Iran on all issues in a call between their foreign ministers.

Pakistan's prime minister held an emergency security meeting on Friday with military and intelligence chiefs.
The rare military actions in the porous border region of Baluchistan -- shared between the two countries -- have further stoked regional tensions already enflamed by the Israel-Hamas war.

Pakistan has recalled its ambassador from Tehran and said Iran's envoy -- on a visit home -- is blocked from returning to Islamabad.

The tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and have raised alarm about wider instability in the Middle East since Israel launched an offensive on Gaza on Oct 7.