ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A retired Iranian police colonel was shot dead by armed men outside his home in the city of Iranshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan province, a Baloch rights monitor reported on Thursday, as clashes in the southeastern restive region see no sign of abating.
The colonel was identified as Ali Sayadi, originally from Zabol and residing in Iranshahr. Haalvsh, an independent watchdog that monitors human rights violations in Sistan and Baluchestan, reported that Sayadi was sitting with two other people near the Shahr-e-Daraz roundabout when the occupants of a Peugeot car approached them, asking his companions to step aside before firing shots.
Local outlets confirmed the incident, including state-affiliated Borna news agency regarding his identity and events, while stating that “official information is not yet available.”
Sistan and Baluchestan, populated mainly by Iran's ethnic Baloch and Sunni Muslim communities, has long faced deep-rooted security challenges, with Iranian security forces confronting Baloch armed groups and those they deem a threat to state security.
In early October, UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato warned of widespread discrimination against Iran’s Baloch minority, citing poverty, land confiscation and denial of identity documents that restrict access to basic services and employment. “Economic marginalization, land confiscation and environmental degradation have further deepened poverty,” she said.
Meanwhile, Iranshahr police commander Colonel Qasem Esmailzadeh confirmed that a shooting had taken place and described Sayadi as an "ordinary citizen." As of publication, no group had claimed responsibility for the killing.
Haalvsh reported that Sayadi had previously served as the head of police stations in Iranshahr and Chabahar and was tied to allegations concerning his earlier service as a police commander in Bampur, including claims that he was involved in crackdowns on fuel carriers and shootings that injured people and caused vehicles to overturn or catch fire. These allegations have not been independently verified.
The incident follows weeks of uninterrupted violence. Clashes in Sistan and Baluchestan between armed groups and Iranian security personnel have seen escalations the past month as Tehran faces external mounting pressure from its confrontation with the United States over the Strait of Hormuz amid possible regional escalations.
Two people on Monday were killed and several security personnel injured in clashes after Iranian security forces opened fire on a vehicle.
An Iranian commander and a police officer were killed in two separate attacks in mid-October in the province after unidentified armed men opened fire, as confirmed by both the rights group and state media. Both were from Zobol district.
Haalvsh reported more than a dozen Iranian military and police personnel killed or wounded in four attacks over a 24-hour period earlier in the month.
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.
Additional clashes ensued earlier in October in Taftan county, with the rights monitor citing local sources who reported that around 18 motorcycles and four military vehicles were present when the fighting began between the IRGC and armed men early that day. As clashes intensified, nearly 40 more military vehicles carrying reinforcements were reportedly deployed to the area.
Separately, the Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network reported clashes near the Iran-Pakistan border on Thursday, with several heavy vehicles set on fire at the Rimdan border crossing in the province.
The network said armed men set fire to a truck carrying Pakistani rice at the Pakistani customs post and that other trucks and their cargoes were also burned. It further reported that several drivers were shot. The reports have not been independently verified.
