According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, the United States is “very, very closely” watching the situation between Pakistan and Iran and advising the two nations to prevent tensions from rising. “We don’t want to see an escalation between these two well-armed nations,” Kirby told reporters on Air Force One while accompanied by President Joe Biden. He went on, “It is obvious that we do not want to see an escalation in South and Central Asia. And, as you can anticipate, we communicate with our counterparts in Pakistan.” Following Iranian strikes in Pakistan late on Tuesday, Pakistan launched missile strikes into Iran. According to a representative for the foreign office, Pakistani precision strikes had targeted “terrorist hideouts” in the Sistan-Baluchestan province of southeast Iran.