ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Ansar al-Furqan, a Baluch armed group, said Wednesday it had merged with the armed coalition Popular Fighters Front, joining the ranks of other armed factions already fighting Tehran in southeastern Iran.
“Ansar al-Furqan of Iran announces its merger into the Popular Fighters Front,” the group’s spokesperson, Molavi Nasrallah Baluch, said in a statement carried by Baluch rights organization Halvash.
The Popular Fighters Front was established in December 2025 as a coalition of Baluch groups, including Jaish al-Adl, the most prominent of the factions. Jaish al-Adl has carried out repeated attacks on Iranian security forces in the restive southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. The coalition seeks greater political and economic rights for the Baluch population of the province.
The merger comes amid an uptick in attacks against Iranian security forces and figures associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Sistan-Balucestan province and as Iran grapples with increasing economic pressure from the United States.
Nasrallah described unity as necessary for the groups to succeed against Tehran. “The key to the success of fighting groups lies in uniting their ranks and hearts,” his statement read.
The spokesperson the decision was intended to help people in Iran, particularly Baluchestan, overcome what the organization described as oppression by the Islamic Republic.
Popular Fighters Front spokesperson Mahmoud Baluch announced the agreement in a video address on Wednesday. He credited mediation by trusted figures in the province and efforts by leaders of both groups with bringing the sides together.
In its written announcement, the front said absorbing Ansar al-Furqan would strengthen its forces in the field. It also called for cooperation with other opponents of Tehran across Iran. Neither announcement explained who would command the merged forces or how their units would be organized.
Iranian Kurdish opposition parties maintain a similar coalition that they founded in February , days before the US-Israeli strikes against Iran. The Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan has called for greater political and economic rights for Iran’s minority groups.
Ansar al-Furqan was itself formed through a merger. In December 2013, two Baluch armed factions, Harakat Ansar Iran and Hizbul Furqan, merged to establish the organization.
The Popular Fighters Front’s founding members included the PADA Baluch movement, Harakat Nasr Baluchistan and the Mohammad Rasulullah armed group, alongside Jaish al-Adl. Its founding manifesto outlines plans for political and media activities as well as armed action.
The coalition has since fought Iranian forces in Sistan-Baluchestan. In September, clashes broke out in Saravan county between its fighters and security personnel. IRGC-affiliated Tasnim said Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi, who commanded the Shahid Sajjad Operational Base, and its intelligence chief Ahmad Herati Zera’ati, were killed.
Bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sistan-Baluchestan is among Iran’s poorest provinces. Its predominantly Sunni Baluch population has long complained of discrimination and a lack of economic opportunities.
