New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Signalling Iran’s growing concerns over Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s visit to the United States, Mohamed Javad Hosseini, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Iranian Embassy in India, on Friday said that Tehran hopes that Islamabad will not align with any move against Tehran and will “stand with Iran” against Israeli aggression.

“I hope they (Pakistan) won’t do this one… There are actually many false and biased allegations in the media right now. But, I hope that Pakistan will stand with Iran against Israeli aggression,” Hosseini told reporters in New Delhi while replying to a question about reports of Munir and US President Donald Trump exploring the possibility of using Pakistani soil for any operation against Iran during the ongoing conflict.

Munir had called on Trump at the White House on Wednesday in a meeting which the Pakistani military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated was initially scheduled for one hour, but extended for over two hours.

Several reports cited later that during the meeting, the United States requested access to military bases in Pakistan to carry out operations against Iran.

Calling the Israeli strikes a “clear violation of sovereignty and international norms”, Hosseini asserted that India, as the leader of the Global South, should condemn the developments.

“We want every country, including India, to condemn this aggression not because of Iran, but because it would open the way for other countries to attack their neighbours for baseless reasons. If you do not condemn this attack, you are giving those nations an incentive,” said Hosseini.

Expressing deep concerns at the recent developments between Iran and Israel, India had urged both sides to avoid any escalatory steps and called for utilising existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy to work towards a de-escalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues.

“India enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries and stands ready to extend all possible support,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had stated on June 13.

–IANS

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