ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two people were killed and several security personnel injured in clashes after Iranian security forces opened fire on a vehicle on Monday evening in Sistan-Baluchestan province, as weeks of uninterrupted violence continue to grip the restive southeastern region.
Haalvsh, a human rights group monitoring the Balochi community, cited local sources as reporting that “an armed individual with the surname Shahnawazi and a member of the security forces were killed, while several other military and security personnel were injured.”
However, Tasnim news agency, an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), denied any clashes in the county and referred to the clashes as reports from “hostile media.”
The clashes come amid mounting armed tensions on two fronts in Iran, where Baluch militant groups operate in the southeast and Kurdish armed groups are active in the west.
Clashes in Iran’s Kurdish regions and Sistan and Baluchestan come as Tehran faces mounting pressure from its confrontation with the United States over the Strait of Hormuz, with the US-imposed blockade in place since mid-July having severely strained Iran’s economy and reduced its oil exports to zero.
October has already seen at least 26 attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, the highest monthly tally since the second Iran war began on February 28, according to data compiled by the Washington Institute.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group with armed presence in western Iran (Rojhelat), reported Monday that the IRGC the day before targeted the mountainous and forested areas of Marivan in the western Kurdistan province “with two suicide drones, followed by more than 30 mortar shells and heavy weapons on Sunday,” confirming no casualties or injuries.
On Saturday, the Kurdish armed group issued a statement warning Iran’s IRGC that it would exercise its “right to self-defense” if attacks on its positions continued.
Haalvsh said it dispatched a citizen journalist to the area after the governor of Khash denied reports of clashes on Monday evening.
“Haalvsh has received videos recorded by its citizen journalist, along with images of a white Peugeot Pars showing numerous bullet impacts on its windscreen and bodywork,” the watchdog said.
Iranian officials and the IRGC have repeatedly blamed Israel and the United States for the insurgency in southeastern Iran, accusing both countries of fomenting unrest as part of a broader effort to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
