A senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed during clashes in Saravan County, in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to a statement from the Quds Base of the IRGC Ground Force carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi commanded the IRGC’s Shahid Sajjad Operational Base in Saravan. The IRGC said he was killed in clashes with armed men in the area. His funeral is scheduled for Friday in Saravan.
The IRGC said five members of an armed group were killed and others arrested during the operation. It described those targeted as members of a militant group but did not name the organization. The IRGC’s claims and casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Iran International reported, citing the Baloch rights group Haalvsh, that at least 13 members of Iranian security forces had been seriously wounded. Gulf News said it could not independently verify that figure.
The IRGC said Zarifi had served more than a decade in southern Sistan and Baluchestan, a border region that has seen recurring clashes tied to factional fighting for years.
This is not an isolated incident. On September 12, the IRGC said three Iranian intelligence and security personnel and four suspected militants were killed in a separate operation in the same area.
A Regime Under Pressure
The killing comes as Iran’s government faces mounting strain on multiple fronts. A U.S. naval blockade has cut off much of the country’s exports and imports, contributing to steep inflation and long lines for fuel. The U.S. Treasury Department, under Secretary Scott Bessent, has continued tightening sanctions through what it calls Operation Economic Outcast.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, addressed the United Nations on Wednesday and denied his government supports terrorism. His remarks were met with protests inside the chamber, and the U.S. delegation walked out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said afterward that Iranian officials did not appear to understand that they should not expect sanctions relief after November’s U.S. elections regardless of the outcome.
The unrest in Sistan-Baluchestan adds another pressure point for a government already contending with economic strain and diplomatic isolation.
