Earlier, the US condemned the Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan, as well as those in Iraq and Syria, a State Department official told reporters on Wednesday.

“We condemn those strikes. We’ve seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbours in just the past couple of days,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

On Wednesday, Iran’s FM Hossein Amirabdollahian said the attacks in Pakistan earlier this week targeted an “Iranian terrorist group”.

“On Pakistan, none of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones,” Amirabdollahian said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“The so-called Jaish al-Adl group, which is an Iranian terrorist group, was targeted,” he added. “The group has taken shelter in some parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. We’ve talked with Pakistani officials several times on this matter,” he said.

He emphasised that while Iran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan, it would not “allow the country’s national security to be compromised or played with”.

China, a close ally of Iran and Pakistan, urged both countries to show restraint.

Mao Ning, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said both nations should “avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension”.

We’ll bring you more reactions to the attacks as soon as we can.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry says a “number of terrorists” have been killed in the attack on Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, describing it as a “series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts”.

“Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” it noted.

“The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised.”

You can read more on this story here.

Pakistan named the “retaliatory” strikes Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar.

In the Persian language, “marg bar” means “death to” and is a famous saying in Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution used to refer to both the US and Israel.

In the local Baloch language, “sarmachar” means fighter and is used by armed groups operating in the cross-border region.

Iran and Pakistan have frequently had to navigate tensions along their 900km-long (559-mile) volatile border.

Here is a timeline of past instances of violence, some of which have soured the diplomatic relationship between the neighbours.