IRGC Commander: Five of the Abducted Border Guards Have Been Freed

On Thursday, November 15, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that five of the twelve Iranian border guards who were abducted have been "freed" and are currently in the "custody" of the Pakistani government. Mohammad Ali Jafari did not mention the names or military ranks of these five individuals and provided no further explanation on the matter. The Fars News Agency, which reported the release of these border guards, did not provide any information on the fate of the remaining individuals. This news comes as Mohammad Naeem Aminifard, the head of the representatives of Sistan and Baluchestan province, recently stated that the abducted Iranian border guards have been moved to an area "near" the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the central government of Islamabad has "no control over these regions." He also criticized the Pakistani government for not accepting responsibility for this incident. The Jaish al-Adl group announced in late October that it had attacked a security post in the city of Mirjaveh and taken twelve Iranian border guards as "captives." Following this incident, the Quds Headquarters of the IRGC officially stated that "the treachery of infiltrators" was the cause of this event. Before the announcement of the release of five Iranian border guards, Shahrouz Barzegar, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, referred to the members of the Jaish al-Adl group as "terrorists" who "carry out actions and flee, have no specific location, and do not adhere to international law. They understand nothing but the language of force." He warned this group: "They should lay down their weapons and surrender as soon as possible and sign their repentance letter to ensure the rest of their lives and their families' lives. When they take up arms and intend to fight, not only will they not be safe, but their families will not be safe either." So far, in addition to the visits of Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mohammad Pakpour, the Commander of the Army Ground Forces, to Pakistan to negotiate the fate of the border guards, the Minister of Interior and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran have also contacted their Pakistani counterparts, demanding "swift and decisive action" from this country for the release of Iranian military personnel and the arrest of their abductors. The Jaish al-Adl group, which has repeatedly clashed with Iranian border guards in this province and has taken several of them hostage or killed them, claims to be a defender of the "Sunni people" in Sistan and Baluchestan province.