Analysts believe that the aim of insurgents may differ from separatism to religious motivations, but they are not entirely clear. The leaders of the groups have maintained different positions:[15] fromBaloch nationalism toSalafi jihadism.
December- A bomb exploded near a car carrying then presidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad during an ambush in the province, resulting in the death of one of his bodyguards and another individual.
14 February – A car bomb detonated in front of a bus transporting members of Iran's revolutionary guard corps in Zehedan reportedly resulting in the death of 11 and injury of 34 others.[29]
29 January – A double-bombing lightly wounded three police officers inZahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochistan province. Jaysh al-Adl claimed responsibility.[30]
2 February – An IRGC soldier was killed and five others wounded in an insurgent attack on aBasij base inNik Shahr city. Jaysh al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack.[31] According to Arab news, the attack was carried out by two people who climbed the walls of the Basij paramilitary base and started shooting.[32]
13 February – Asuicide car bomb attack targeting a bus carrying IRGC personnel on theKhash-Zahedan road killed at least 27 soldiers and wounded 13 more. Jaysh al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack.[33] According to Haaretz, the head of IRGC Maj. Mohammad Ali Jafari stated, without providing proof, that Israel gave the Emirates and Saudi Arabia the go ahead to conduct the attack.[34]
21 March – Pakistan announced that it had rescued four Iranian soldiers kidnapped by the Jaysh al-Adl group last year. It did not announce any other details. Jaysh al-Adl had kidnapped 12 Iranian soldiers in October and later released five. Following the announcement, there were still three Iranian soldiers held by the group.[23]
20 July – Two members of the IRGC were killed and another two wounded late at night during a confrontation with gunmen near the border with Pakistan.[35] The confrontation occurred in Keshtegan area of Saravan County, province of Sistan and Baluchestan.[36]
30 June – Jaysh al-Adl claimed responsibility for a roadside IED blast that injured an IRGC commander on a road in Sistan and Balochistan Province.[37]
5 August – Four police officers were injured when a sound bomb exploded next to their vehicle inZahedan, capital of Sistan and Balochistan Province, Iran.[38]
29 September – ThreeBasij members were killed and another was wounded in a drive-by shooting inNik Shahr county, Sistan-Baluchistan Province.[39]
1 January – The IRGC said in a statement that during clashes with a group of "armed terrorists" in the Kurin region of Sistan and Baluchestan province, threeBasij members were killed in addition to six "terrorists".[40][41]
23 April – The Quds Regional Headquarters of the IRGC announced that a bodyguard was killed after terrorists opened fire at the car of Brigadier General Hosein Almasi was the commander of the110th Salman Farsi Special Operations Brigade following an ambush at a military checkpoint near Zahedan.[42]
Iran's security forces attacked the militants' hideout, killing 9 suspected fighters, including Mullah Akram Naroi who had reportedly been involved in an earlier attack on Rask police station.[51]
On 3 April, Militants allegedly belonging toJaish ul-Adl attacked the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters in Rask and Chabahar counties, part of southern Sistan province. The militants killed 11 security personnel.[55]
November
On November 6, twelve Jaish ul-Adl militants were killed, including the group's leader Salahuddin Farooqui, in a joint operation by Iran and Pakistan.[21][56] By November 24, the Iranian military reported 76 suspected militants killed.[20]
Pakistan is Iran's neighbour, sharing the borders of itsBalochistan with Sistan and Baluchestan. Pakistan's Balochistan province is also suffering from low-level insurgency waged by terrorist and separatist militants against the government of Pakistan. These Pakistani Baloch terrorist and separatist militant groups are allied with Iranian Baloch groups. Iran and Pakistan historically have a strategic alliance fighting these groups. In February 2014 the two states signed a pact sharing responsibility for combating militants operating across the border.[15] According to a former U.S. intelligence officer, Jundallah leaderAbdolmalek Rigi was captured by Pakistani officials and delivered to Iran with U.S. support: "It doesn't matter what they say. They know the truth."[57]
Claims ofCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) support were debunked by a subsequent investigation showing that the CIA "had barred even the most incidental contact with Jundallah." The rumors originated in anIsraeliMossad "false flag" operation; Mossad agents posing as CIA officers met with and recruited members of Jundullah in cities such asLondon to carry out attacks against Iran. PresidentGeorge W. Bush "went absolutely ballistic" when he learned of Israel's actions, but the situation was not resolved until PresidentBarack Obama's administration "drastically scaled back joint U.S.-Israel intelligence programs targeting Iran" and ultimately designated Jundallah a terrorist organization in November 2010.[57] Although the CIA cut all ties with Jundallah after the2007 Zahedan bombings, theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) andUnited States Department of Defense continued to gather intelligence on Jundallah through assets cultivated by "FBI counterterrorism task force officer" Thomas McHale; the CIA co-authorized a 2008 trip McHale made to meet his informants inAfghanistan. According toThe New York Times: "Current and former officials say the American government never directed or approved any Jundallah operations. And they say there was never a case when the United States was told the timing and target of a terrorist attack yet took no action to prevent it."[62]Mashregh News, which has close ties to the IRGC, has accusedQatar of supporting bothJaish ul-Adl andHarakat Ansar Iran, alongsideSaudi Arabia.[66]Harakat Ansar Iran has made an appeal onSaudi Arabian websites for funding.[67]
Majeed Brigade[5]
Jaish ul-Adl: 500-600[9]
Islamic Republic of Iran Army and
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for both military and security actions as part of the
Iranian Armed Forces along with the
Iranian police.[16]
Ministry of Intelligence, doing intelligence operations.[17]
Border Guard Command, engaging border conflicts with insurgent groups.[18]
Ansar Al-Furqan: founded by December 2013 merger ofHarakat Ansar andPashton groupHizb Al-Furqan. They are linked toAl-Nusra Front and are led by Sheikh Abu-Hafs al-Baloochi.[24]
Baloch Liberation Army: founded in 2000, was active since 2005, carrying out armed assaults againstPakistani armed forces,ParamilitaryFrontier Corpsmen, as well ascivilians fromIranian and as well asAfghan soil. It was banned by theIranian government in 2024 and since then has had both Iranian, and joint operations byIran andPakistan conducted against it.[5]
Baloch Liberation Front: founded originally in 1964 in Damascus byJumma Khan Marri, it re-emerged in 2004 afterAllah Nazar Baloch took command of the group in 2003.[25][26] It fought against bothIran andPakistan in the1963–1969 insurgency and the1973 –1977 insurgency.[25] It has conducted attacks on Pakistani Security Forces such as theArmy, theparamilitaryFrontier Corps and oncivilians, from its camps isIran andAfghanistan.[27][28] It was banned by theIranian government in 2024 and a crackdown has occurred against it in both countries.[5]
