The making of an insurgency in Iran's Balochistan province

Jane's Intelligence Review ^ | 2006 May 19 | Alex Vatanka and Fatemeh Aman

[Wiz]

There has been a considerable escalation in violence in Iran's impoverished Balochistan province. On 1 May, Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Purmohammadi said that Tehran has approached Interpol for help in tracking down Abdolmalek Rigi. The Iranian authorities believe that Rigi, the ethnic Baloch and Sunni leader of Jondollah (Soldiers of Allah), is probably traversing between Iran's Balochistan and Pakistan and southern Afghanistan.

Rigi and his unknown number of militiamen have vowed to fight the Shia-centric government in Tehran unless socio-economic conditions improve in the province, where the majority of the population is Sunni and ethnic Baloch. Meanwhile, mainstream Balochis are also becoming increasingly vocal in demanding socio-economic regeneration and an end to discrimination in the province.

Tehran's response

Iran's reaction to Jondollah's most recent attacks has been to publicly concede to the severity of ethnic Baloch militancy in Iran.

The most recent attacks have included the 16 March killing of 20 people travelling between the provincial capital, Zahedan, and Zabol, a desolate border town that acts as a major conduit for drugs from Afghanistan. On 14 May, a number of cars travelling on the main road between the cities of Bam and Kerman were attacked by an estimated 30 gunmen, leaving 12 people dead. Jondollah has claimed responsibility for the 16 March attack, although it said that those killed were either military personnel or somehow affiliated with the Iranian government, an accusation rebuffed by Tehran, which maintains that civilians were targeted. Jondollah denies involvement in the 14 May attack.

[Wiz]

ping

[marron]

This is how you fight Iran. You find a few loose threads, and start tugging.

[Jabba the Nutt]

Here's my plan for Iran. Contact patriotic Iranian Military leaders. Read them the riot act. If they don't stop their nuclear bomb plans in a verifiable way, Iran will be dismantled as a country. The Shia Arabs of western Iran can be attached to their Shia Arab brethren of Iraq. The Iranian Kurds can be attached to an independent Kurdistan. Baluchistan can be independent. Rump Persian Iran will then be disarmed. See Yugoslavia for an example.