The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also called Sepah or Pasdaran, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. Whereas the Iranian Army protects the country's sovereignty in a traditional capacity, the IRGC's constitutional mandate is to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic. Most interpretations of this mandate assert that it entrusts the IRGC with preventing foreign interference in Iran, thwarting coups by the traditional military, and crushing "deviant movements" that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United States.
Jundallah, also known as the People's Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), was a Sunni Salafi militant organization based in Sistan and Baluchestan, a province in southeast Iran. The group shared its name with another Baloch group active in Pakistani Balochistan as part of the same insurgency, that claims to be fighting for the "equal rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran".
The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and Balochistan of southern Afghanistan. Rich in natural resources, this is the largest, least populated and least developed province in Pakistan and Iran, and armed groups demand greater control of the province's natural resources and political autonomy. Baloch separatists have attacked civilians from other ethnicities throughout the province. In the 2010s, attacks against the Shia community by sectarian groups—though not always directly related to the political struggle—have risen, contributing to tensions in Balochistan. In Pakistan, the ethnic separatist insurgency is low-scale but ongoing mainly in southern Balochistan, as well as sectarian and religiously motivated militancy concentrated mainly in northern and central Balochistan.
Numerous civilians, including men, women, children, government officials, activists, secular intellectuals and clerics have been victims of assassination, terrorism, or violence against non-combatants, over the course of modern Iranian history. Among the most notable acts of terrorism in Iran in the 20th century have been the 1978 Cinema Rex fire and the 1990s chain murders of Iran.
The 2007 Zahedan bombings occurred from 14–17 February in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan Province, Iran. While Jundallah claimed responsibility, the Iranian government has accused the governments of United States of complicity. The first bombing occurred at 6:30 a.m. on February 14 when a car filled with explosives stopped in front of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards in Ahmadabad district. The car exploded, killing 18 and injuring 31 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Abdolmalek Rigi was the leader of Jundallah, a Muslim group based in the Sistan and Balochistan Province of southeast Iran. In 2010, he was captured and executed by the Iranian government.
The 2009 Zahedan bombing was an explosion on May 28, 2009 that occurred during Maghrib prayers in Zahedan killing 30 people and wounding 60. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The governor of Sistan and Baluchestan reported that "a group of terrorists were arrested as they were trying to escape from the province".
Abdolhamid Rigi was the elder brother of the detained leader of Jundallah, Abdolmalek Rigi. Like his brother, he was a member of the militant Sunni Islamist organization, which is widely recognized as a terrorist group, including by Iran and four other countries.
Jundallah was a militant group associated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group was commanded by militant Hakimullah Mehsud, the Emir of TTP, until his death on 1 November 2013. Ahmed Marwat was the spokesman of the group. On 17 November 2014, a group spokesman told Reuters that it had vowed allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, after a meeting with a three-man delegation from the group. In January 2017, the Government of Pakistan imposed, interalia, a ban on Jundullah and other splinter groups that claimed responsibility for terror attacks.
The 2010 Zahedan bombings were two suicide bombings on 15 July 2010 that targeted Shia worshippers in Iran, including members of the Revolutionary Guards. The bombings targeted those celebrating the birthday of a Muslim saint at the Jamia mosque in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan. Responsibility for the attacks was claimed by Jundullah in revenge for the execution of their leader by the Iranian government. Amongst the reactions and national and supranational condemnations, Iran blamed the United States and Israel for facilitating the attack.
Events in the year 2010 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Events in the year 2009 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
On 22 September 2013, a twin suicide bombing took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 127 people were killed and more than 250 injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan.
Jaish ul-Adl, or Jaish al-Adl, is a Sunni militant and Baluchi separatist organization that operates mainly in southeastern Iran, where there is a substantial concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan.
The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations designated as terrorist organizations by the Iranian government. It began in 2004 and is part of the wider Balochistan conflict.
The arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of Jundallah Terrorist group, took place on 23 February 2010 through an international operation by Iranian security forces. Rigi was extracted from a passenger jet on his way from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence had tracked Rigi's movements for five months before arresting him.
The attack of Tasooki was a terrorist attack against Iran. It took place at 21:00 on 25 Esfand 1384 in Zabol-Zahedan road near the police station. The perpetrators were members of the Baloch religio-political insurgency named Jundallah (Iran). The attack left 22 dead and 7 captured. in that night the forces of jundallah and Abdolmalek rigi attacked several passing vehicles, mostly buses, in the guise of police and killed 21 Shia male passengers in front of their wives and children.
When the Moon Was Full is a 2019 Iranian drama film written and directed by Narges Abyar. The film is based on the true story of the brother and sister-in-law of Abdolmalek Rigi, the former leader of the Jundallah terrorist group in the Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. It won multi awards including the Crystal Simorgh for Best Film at the 37th Fajr Film Festival.
On February 13, 2019, a suicide bombing on the Khash–Zahedan road in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran killed at least 27 Revolutionary Guards and wounded another 13. It was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Iran in years. The Salafi jihadist militant organization Jaish ul-Adl said it carried out the bombing.
On 16 January 2024, Iran conducted a series of missile strikes in Pakistan, asserting that it had targeted militants of the Baloch separatist group Jaish ul-Adl in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. This attack occurred one day after a similar series of Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, which the Iranian government had stated were in response to the Kerman bombings by the Islamic State on 3 January. Pakistan's government condemned the strikes as an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistani airspace and stated that two children had been killed.
