Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian called for unity between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday as a ceasefire came into effect. The border closures resulting from the fighting put a halt to Iran's forced repatriation of Afghans living in Iran and the Islamic Republic also fears spillover security issues from the neighboring conflict. 

Pezeshkian chaired a government session to discuss the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He described the conflict between Iran’s neighbors as the result of “plots by enemies and international Zionism,” adding that Tehran is ready to help promote dialogue. 

“Dialogue and the promotion of fraternal relations will help ease tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said, as quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency on Thursday. 

Pakistan and the Taliban government in Afghanistan declared a 48-hour truce on Wednesday, ending a week of fighting. The conflict began when Pakistan carried out strikes targeting the Pakistani Taliban within Afghanistan. The strikes prompted Afghanistan to attack Pakistani border posts and led to a week of clashes. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said on Thursday that at least 37 civilians had been killed in Afghanistan. Pakistan has not released casualty figures from its side, but has said it killed 200 Pakistani Taliban fighters during the clashes. The Afghan government said it killed 58 Pakistani soldiers.