Iran’s Fuel Smuggling Paranoia in the Baluchistan Border Region
Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 19 Issue: 5
(source: 24khabarban.com)
On February 22, Iranian military forces opened fire on a group of Baluch fuel carriers who were protesting against the government for blocking their ability to take fuel loads into Pakistan. For decades, the livelihoods of thousands of Baluch families have depended on transporting cheap fuel to neighboring countries. It is unclear why these soldiers, who were from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), first detained and then opened fire on the carriers.
However, there are two likely possibilities: first, the IRGC’s desire to be the sole beneficiary of fuel smuggling; and, second, the Islamic Republic’s growing fear and paranoia about gatherings and protests, especially in border areas. Whatever the reason, the incident has alienated the Iranian Baluch community more than ever before.
Iranian news agencies said four ethnic Arab militants were executed after being sentenced to death.
Wednesday 03/03/2021
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) troopsinspect cars at the entrance of Qom, Iran. (AFP)
DUBAI Sunni Muslim Baluchi militants attacked a vehicle belonging to Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Tuesday in the south-east of the country, which has been hit by unrest in the past week, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
It quoted Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor of the impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan province, as saying the vehicle belonged to a Guards engineering unit.
The Guards said in a statement that one member of its engineering unit was injured and another was missing after the attack.
March 2, 2021 at 6:09 pm | Published in: Iran, Middle East, News
Iranian security froces stand guard as tens of thousands of Iranians, waving national flags and portraits of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attend a mass rally held in Tehran on February 11, 2010 [ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images] March 2, 2021 at 6:09 pm
Sunni Baluchi militants attacked a vehicle belonging to Iran s Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday in the southeast of the country, which has been hit by unrest in the past week, the state broadcaster
IRIB reported, says
Reuters.
It quoted Mohammad Hadi Marashi, deputy governor of the impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan province, as saying the vehicle belonged to a Guards engineering unit. He did not say whether or not there had been any casualties.
Tensions simmer at volatile Iran-Pakistan border
Mon, Mar 01 2021 12:48:13 PM
By Ateet Sharma
New Delhi, Mar 1: Repeated border flare-ups in the last few weeks have exacerbated the tensions between Pakistan and Iran threatening to further destablise an already volatile region. Various agencies have reported the killing of at least two people in a shooting incident at the common border of the two countries, triggering large scale protests in Sistan-Baluchistan, the second largest province of the 31 provinces of Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said the country s competent authorities are working on the case of recent clashes with fuel smugglers in a southeastern region near the common border with Pakistan.
HRW urges Iran to probe deadly shooting on Pakistan border
26th February, 2021 11:30:52
BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch called on Iran Friday to investigate a deadly shooting by Revolutionary Guards against smugglers attempting to transport fuel into neighbouring Pakistan for excessive use of force, reports AFP.
Monday’s shooting in the border area near the town of Saravan killed at least 10 people and wounded five, HRW said, citing Baluchi activists.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutio-nary Guard Corps had blocked a road used to transport fuel before apparently opening fire at people attempting to reopen the route, it added.
The action has prompted attacks by angry protesters on government buildings in both Saravan and the Sistan-Baluchistan provincial capital Zahedan.