On Friday, Pakistan and Iran reached an agreement to reduce tensions stemming from a sequence of military incidents in the border area of Baluchistan. Both countries vowed to resolve issues through talks and diplomatic channels, while Iranian and international leaders called for restraint to prevent an escalation of the crisis.

The situation unfolded with Iran initiating a missile and drone attack on what it termed “terrorist” targets in Pakistan Tuesday night. In response, Pakistan conducted precision strikes on several militant bases in the province using “killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions, and stand-off weapons,” the military said in a statement. Those strikes killed 11 people in all, according to the Pakistani government.

The exchange of deadly airstrikes on militant targets has heightened regional tensions, already strained by the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In addition, the attacks have highlighted Iran’s growing concern that it is being pushed back by the rebel groups it supports across the Middle East — including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Although nuclear-armed Pakistan and Iran have long regarded each other with suspicion, analysts say this week’s tit-for-tat missile attacks were unusual. Joshua White, an associate professor of security studies at King’s College London and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank in the United States, told Al Jazeera that neither nation has much to gain from a broader conflict with their neighbor.

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Both sides have complex factors and interests at play. Pakistan is facing an insurgency against its governing theocracy, while Iran is struggling to rein in militants and rebalance its foreign policy as it grapples with unrest against the regime in its own country. The shared 959-kilometer border in arid Baluchistan, which is home to Iran’s Sunni minority and has seen decades of sectarian violence, is a significant source of tension.

China, a key regional player with a central Belt and Road project in Pakistan’s port city of Gwadar, has urged both nations to exercise restraint. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Beijing would mediate if the two countries sought it.

In an official readout of the National Security Committee meeting, Pakistan’s caretaker government said both countries agreed to overcome minor irritants through dialogue and diplomacy. It also reaffirmed its commitment to restoring diplomatic ties with Iran. A separate statement released after a telephonic conversation between Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, quoted Pakistan as saying that it wanted to work with Iran based on the principles of mutual trust and respect for each other’s sovereignty. But it stressed that addressing the other’s security concerns must be “in line with the universal principles of good-neighborly relations.”