ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Balochi rights group on Tuesday reported clashes between Iranian armed forces and “armed individuals” southeast of Iran, the latest in a successive increase of tensions in the past month in the restive southeastern province.
Haalvsh, a Baloch rights monitor, said “heavy gunfire and RPG explosions” took place in the city of Iranshahr, located in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.
“Dozens of military vehicles and a main battle tank have been deployed to the scene, with both light and semi-heavy weaponry being used in the confrontation,” the monitor stated, citing “initial reports.”
It also claimed that roads leading to the clash site have been cordoned off “at a significant distance,” with “precise details” about the identity of the gunmen, the cause of the clash, or potential casualties and damages remain unavailable.
Saberin News, a telegram channel affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), confirmed the confrontation.
“Reports from Iranshahr indicate that an intense armed clash has been underway for about two hours between police forces and armed individuals in the Gharibabad area of Iranshahr,” read a telegram statement.
Sistan and Baluchestan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and has long faced attacks by Baloch armed groups as well as security operations by Iranian forces. It is the most underserved part of the country with little state investment.
A coalition of Baluchi armed groups operates in the area with a large number of cells in various cities and towns in the region. The province has seen clashes of late when the cells have been identified by deceit or force.
On Sunday, Haalvsh reported the killing of a Balochi man, identified as Obeid Zardkouhi, and the arrest of another, Jasem Jamali, during a raid in Iranshahr, with the latter taken to an unknown location.
Furthermore, clashes erupted on Thursday between Iranian military and security forces and members of the Baluch armed group, Popular Fighters Front in Jihadabad.
According to IRGC-affiliated Tansim News Agency, IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi, commander of the Shahid Sajjad Operational Base in the province’s city of Saravan, and Ahmad Herati Zera’ati, the base’s intelligence chief, "were killed" in the fighting and "at least 13 others were wounded," while four armed individuals were also killed.
