The Iran Revolutionary Guards Command, IRGC has unleashes its ground forces against suspected Israel-backed fighters near Tehran amid ongoing hostilities with the US, Time of India (TOI) has reported on Thursday.
The IRGC announced it killed six suspected militants while fresh violence in the country’s southeast left a police officer dead.
Iranian state media said IRGC forces targeted a group allegedly preparing an attack in Mangalabad, around 44 km southwest of Tehran. The IRGC said clearance operations were continuing in the village to search for additional suspects and secure the area.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of supporting or financing opposition and armed groups inside the country, although those broader allegations were not tied to publicly presented evidence in this operation.
Days earlier, serious fighting in Zahedan reportedly killed two senior IRGC figures: Brigadier General Hussein Zarifi, commander of the Shahed Sajjad operational base in Sarowan, and intelligence chief Ahmed Herati Zerati. IRGC-linked Tasnim said at least 13 others were wounded and four armed fighters were killed.
The latest violence also comes around the anniversary of the 2022 Bloody Friday crackdown in Zahedan when more than 100 Baluchi protesters were reportedly killed.
Last month, violence also erupted in Sistan and Baluchestan in southeastern Iran when unidentified gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Rask, killing police officer Ali Raza Sanchuli.
Iranian state media confirmed his death while police said operations were continuing to identify and arrest those responsible.
The attack adds to repeated clashes between Iranian security forces and Baluchi armed groups in one of Iran’s poorest and most heavily securitized provinces.
The latest raids and attacks highlight mounting security pressure inside Iran, stretching from volatile Sistan and Baluchestan to the outskirts of Tehran itself.
