Two members of the Revolutionary Guards and one Basij killed at the Saravan border

According to the public relations report of the Quds Ground Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on the evening of Sunday, December 7, two senior members of this organization along with a Basij member were killed at the Saravan border in Sistan and Baluchestan province by individuals referred to by this command as 'foreign mercenaries and armed bandits.' Reports indicate that these three individuals were from the Fajr Guards of Fars province. The IRNA news agency identified the deceased as Captain Akbar Abdollahnejad, Lieutenant Qodratollah Mandani, and a Basij member named Mousa Nasiri Bayat. The Fars news agency reported the first individual’s rank as Colonel and the second as Captain. The Security and Law Enforcement Deputy of Sistan and Baluchestan province commented on the incident, stating: 'The terrorists ambushed at the zero point of the border at mile markers 190 and 191 of the Nahang River, launching a surprise attack by shooting at the passing vehicle of the IRGC, martyring three individuals.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali-Asghar Mirshakari added: 'The terrorists fled after this blind act due to the proximity of the border to the neighboring country.' Saravan County is located 340 kilometers south of Zahedan and is the easternmost point of Iran, bordering Pakistan. Abdullah Iraqi, the deputy commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, stated on October 26 that groups he referred to as 'terrorists' shoot at Iranian border forces at night to portray the eastern region of Iran as insecure. In April of this year, it was announced that the Quds Ground Force of the IRGC was responsible for ensuring security in this area and 300 kilometers along the Sistan and Baluchestan border to prevent the activities of 'terrorist groups and armed bandits in the region.' Previously, in 2009, the IRGC had also announced that it was responsible for ensuring the security of Sistan and Baluchestan province. In the past four months, several Iranian military and law enforcement personnel have been killed by armed groups in the Sistan and Baluchestan region. In the latest incident, on Wednesday, November 26, three police officers from the Zahak County in Sistan and Baluchestan were killed while on patrol. One day after this incident, Jamshid Rakhshani Nasab, the governor of Zahak, stated that 'seven suspects involved in this incident' had been arrested. On Saturday, October 26, Iranian officials reported the killing of two border guards in the border area of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Pakistan also announced that a government militia member of that country had been killed by Iranian forces' gunfire. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Tehran on the evening of October 26. Islamic Republic officials claim that Pakistan, which shares a long border with Sistan and Baluchestan, has become a 'safe haven for terrorists.' On October 19, an explosive device detonated on the route of two police vehicles in southern Sistan and Baluchestan, which resulted in no casualties. On the same day, Bahram Bashandeh, the social affairs manager of the IranShahr governorate, was targeted by two armed individuals and died in the hospital due to severe injuries. Previously, attacks by armed groups on Iranian law enforcement on October 16 and 17 resulted in the deaths of four police officers. In this context, the arrest of seven suspects involved in the deaths of three police officers in Zahak and the killing of three police officers in Zahak, Sistan and Baluchestan, the deputy commander of the IRGC stated: 'Terrorists shoot at the eastern border of Iran at night.' The IRGC warned: 'If Pakistan does not fulfill its border commitments, we will take action.' Three police officers were injured in an attack on a post in Sistan and Baluchestan.