Iran steps up crackdown on Sunni militancy: How far could it go?
The question of Sunni militancy, which stems from decades-long systematic marginalization of Iran's Sunni minority, has added to an array of challenges Tehran's radical Shiite government is currently grappling with.
TEHRAN — Iranian intelligence forces have in recent days been engaged in renewed operations against opposition Sunni militants in the country's volatile southeast, in response to a spate of attacks targeting government officials and buildings.
During one operation in the strategic city of Chabahar, in the Sistan-Baluchistan province, Iranian forces said they killed a member of the insurgent organization Jaish al-Adl, before arresting six others, according to state media.
Jaish al-Adl is an armed organization that was founded with the stated mission of defending the rights of the ethno-religious Baluch minority, who are followers of Sunni Islam in a country ruled by a Shiite theocracy. Designated as a "terrorist" organization by Iran and the United States, the group has since 2012 launched deadly cross-border attacks — mainly from neighboring Pakistan — targeting Iranian government forces.
This week, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a series of new attacks, starting with a bomb explosion in Chabahar, which was condemned by Iranian authorities and treated as a "terrorist" incident. It was followed by another in the provincial capital Zahedan, where assailants shot and injured a government employee at the local housing foundation.
