Discovery of Weapons Cache of Jaish al-Adl Group in Southern Sistan and Baluchestan

The commander of the police force in Sistan and Baluchestan province announced the discovery of a "weapons cache" belonging to the Jaish al-Adl group in the southern part of the province. The location of this weapons depot was reported to be outside the city of Saravan. According to a report on Saturday, July 8, by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Hossein Rahimi, the commander of this force, told reporters that on Friday, police officers in the province discovered one of the group's weapons depots in the 1800-meter-high region of "Koh-e-Sefid" in Saravan County. Mr. Rahimi stated that in this operation, which was described as "complex," "35 rifles and a 4.5 mm anti-aircraft gun with a range of seven kilometers" were discovered. The police commander of Sistan and Baluchestan province added that in addition, the seized shipment included "dozens of cartridges and two heavy SPG-9 guns along with large quantities of ammunition." He also mentioned that "the discovered weapons were intended to be used against the people" of Sistan and Baluchestan province. The police commander did not provide further explanations in this regard. Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran has repeatedly been the site of confrontations between military and law enforcement forces and armed groups that Iranian officials refer to as "terrorists," "smugglers," and "bandits." Among these, armed groups opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sistan and Baluchestan, which Tehran claims are based in Pakistani territory, call themselves "defenders of the rights" of Sunni Muslims. Iranian officials have long protested the presence of these groups in Pakistan and have urged Islamabad to prevent their activities. The Jaish al-Adl group, which has repeatedly clashed with Islamic Republic forces in this province, has taken several of them hostage or killed them, also claims to be a defender of "Ahl al-Sunnah" in Sistan and Baluchestan. Meanwhile, Iranian officials consider this group "terrorist" and affiliated with foreign countries. In recent weeks, following an attack by five members of ISIS on the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini and the administrative building of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in Tehran, security and police forces have reported the arrest of dozens of individuals and the discovery of significant amounts of weapons and ammunition from them. According to some responsible officials, a large portion of murders and armed robberies in some cities of Iran are committed with illegal firearms. The use of firearms in Iran has led to the formation of one-third of murders in society, while according to criminal and civil laws, the unauthorized carrying of firearms is a crime and carries heavy penalties. According to Article 664 of the Islamic Penal Code, "Anyone who knowingly and intentionally takes action to create or alter a key for the commission of a crime, or creates or prepares any means for the commission of a crime, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three months to one year and up to (74) lashes."