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On Saturday, two police officers were killed in a grenade attack on a police station in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, near the Pakistan border. The attack was claimed by the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl, which is considered a terrorist group by Iran. Four assailants were killed in the ensuing firefight. Sistan-Baluchistan has been plagued by unrest involving drug smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baluchi minority, and Sunni Muslim extremist groups.
In a separate incident, two men were publicly hanged in Shiraz for a deadly shooting at a revered shrine last year. The shooting had sparked protests in Zahedan, where the targeted police station is located. The Jaish al-Adl group accused security forces of targeting protesters during the September rallies, leading to clashes in which dozens were killed.
The head of Makki Mosque, an influential leader of Sistan-Baluchistan’s Sunni minority, denounced the attack on police and emphasized the importance of maintaining national security. The province has seen increased violence in recent months, with the execution of two men being linked to the shooting at the shrine in Shiraz. The men were convicted of “corruption on earth, armed rebellion, and acting against national security.”
Public hangings are relatively rare in Iran, with most executions being conducted inside prisons. However, the pace of executions has been rapid in 2023, with human rights groups reporting nearly 370 executions since the start of the year. The United Nations has called on Iran to stop the “chilling” practice.
The recent violence in Sistan-Baluchistan and the public executions highlight the ongoing security challenges facing Iran. The government is grappling with various threats, including drug smuggling, minority rebellions, and Sunni extremist groups. The incidents also shed light on the country’s human rights record, with concerns raised about the use of public executions and the high number of executions overall..
