Iranian regime security forces were engaged in an intense battle with unknown assailants in the country’s southeast on Saturday, according to reporting from the Baloch rights group Haalvsh and Iran International.
The engagement began around 4 a.m. local time in the Bakhshan area of Saravan after dozens of military and security personnel entered the neighborhood. Haalvsh reported attacks on at least three security force vehicles, repeated explosions, and roads blocked around a local mosque.
Fighting later extended toward the Great Madani Mosque and parts of Jahadabad. Ambulances were observed in the area, according to local sources cited by the group.
Haalvsh sources reported dozens of security personnel killed or wounded. Those figures remain unverified. The identities of the gunmen and the exact trigger for the fighting were not immediately established by independent accounts.
Iranian officials later claimed they conducted a joint operation involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the General Intelligence Directorate, and police. They said the target was a group that had gathered in Saravan with the intention of carrying out attacks or assassinations. State media and IRGC statements said three members of the security forces were killed and four or five gunmen were killed.
Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were seized at the site. Deputy Governor Ali Khalilabadi said a large number of the group’s members had been killed or wounded and that the operation to clear the location was continuing.
No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks as of this report.
Heavy fighting between Iranian security forces and unidentified gunmen spread through residential areas of Saravan in southeastern Iran on Saturday, continuing for nearly seven hours, according to the rights group Haalvsh.
The group reported attacks on at least three security… pic.twitter.com/DN9lFEfiwv
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) September 12, 2026
Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has a long history of armed unrest. It is home to a Sunni Baloch population in a Shia-majority country and ranks among Iran’s poorest provinces, with high unemployment and limited infrastructure.
Security forces have repeatedly clashed there with armed groups, including Jaish al-Adl, as well as smugglers. In late 2025, Jaish al-Adl and other Baloch organizations announced a merger into the People’s Fighters Front, according to available reports. Saravan itself has been the site of earlier gun battles.
The latest incident comes as Iran faces heavy economic strain linked to U.S. sanctions and related measures, including restrictions on oil exports and financial access. Iranian officials and independent analyses have reported on reduced trade, currency pressure, and shortages. In Sistan and Baluchestan, chronic poverty and underdevelopment predate the current squeeze, though sanctions have further constrained investment and local projects.
