Iran has alleged that two Arab countries may be linked to recent unrest in its southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan. Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said there were indications of foreign involvement, although he did not identify the countries.
According to BBC Urdu, Maleki told Iran’s ILNA news agency that authorities were investigating reports concerning the alleged deployment of advanced equipment and specialist personnel in the region.
He said armed group activities and instability in border areas should not be viewed merely as isolated security incidents. Their political, social and regional dimensions also needed to be considered, he added.
Maleki warned that external actors could attempt to exploit wartime conditions to create instability in the region. However, no independent verification of his allegations against the two unnamed Arab countries has been provided in the report.
The remarks come amid a series of attacks against security personnel in Sistan and Balochistan in recent weeks.
Iranian media reported that a commander of the women’s Basij force and a police officer were killed in two separate attacks in Mehrestan on October 12. In one incident, armed attackers reportedly targeted a police vehicle. A police officer injured in the attack later died in hospital.
Earlier, on October 8, Nosrat Eftekhari, deputy head of the provincial police command for cultural and social affairs, was killed in a roadside bomb explosion on the route to Cheshmeh Ziarat in Zahedan.
Sistan and Balochistan is a strategically important border province that has experienced repeated clashes between armed groups and security forces. Iranian authorities are examining the circumstances surrounding the latest incidents, while the identities of the two Arab countries mentioned by Maleki remain undisclosed.
The allegations have not been independently confirmed, and no evidence identifying the countries was provided in the cited report.
