Senior IRGC General Killed in Clashes in Southeastern Iran

TEHRAN (Terror Monitor) — Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been killed during clashes with armed men in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state-linked media reported.

Zarifi was the commander of the IRGC’s Shahid Sajjad Operational Base in Saravan, near Iran’s border with Pakistan. The IRGC Ground Force’s Quds Base said he was killed during an operation against what Iranian authorities described as “enemy-backed terrorist elements.”

According to Tasnim, the Quds Base said five members of the armed group were also killed during the clashes, while several others were arrested. Iranian authorities said weapons and ammunition were recovered during the operation. The casualty figures and official account could not be independently verified.

The confrontation took place in the Saravan area, where Iranian security forces have carried out several operations against armed groups in recent weeks. Iranian state media said the latest operation followed intelligence that an armed group was preparing an attack in the area.

Local Baloch rights outlet Haalvsh reported that fighting continued in the Jihadabad area of Saravan and said at least 13 military and security personnel were seriously wounded. That figure has not been independently confirmed. IranWire also reported claims that Ahmad Harati Zera’ati, an intelligence official linked to the Shahid Sajjad base, was killed in the fighting.

Links to Jaish al-Adl

Tasnim had previously attributed the clashes to Jaish al-Adl, an armed Baloch group that has carried out attacks against Iranian security forces and government targets in Sistan and Baluchestan.

In December 2025, Jaish al-Adl and several other Baloch groups announced that they had formed a broader umbrella organization known as the Popular Resistance Front, or People’s Fighters Front. The reorganization was described by analysts as an effort to bring several groups together under a wider structure.

The U.S. State Department has designated Jaish al-Adl as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and has said the group has carried out attacks that killed and injured Iranian civilians and government officials.

Long-running Conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan

Sistan and Baluchestan, home to a large proportion of Iran’s Baloch population, has experienced repeated clashes between Iranian security forces and armed Baloch groups.

The province borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan and has long faced security challenges, including armed attacks, cross-border movement and smuggling. Iranian authorities have frequently launched security operations in the region, while Baloch rights organizations have accused Iranian security forces of excessive use of force and discrimination against the local population.

Earlier this month, the IRGC said four terrorists and three Iranian intelligence and security personnel were killed in another operation in Saravan targeting an alleged armed cell.

The latest fighting adds to a series of confrontations in the province and highlights the continuing security tensions along Iran’s southeastern border with Pakistan.