Brian M. Perkins
A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle at a police headquarters in the Iranian port city of Chabahar on December 6. The bombing left at least two individuals dead and injured more than a dozen others (PressTV, December 6). The incident follows an earlier attack in Ahvaz on September 22, when several gunmen attacked a military parade, killing at least 29 and injuring more than 60 others (See TM, October 19).
Ansar al-Furqan—a Sunni Baloch militant group—claimed responsibility for the attack in Chabahar the following day (SITE, December 6). Ansar al-Furqan is based in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province and has claimed responsibility for several anti-regime attacks over the past several years, including an attack on an oil pipeline in Ahvaz in December 2017. Iranian authorities have reportedly arrested 10 individuals suspected of involvement in the attack and stated that more arrests would follow (PressTV, December 9).
While the attack was not particularly devastating in terms of the death toll or destruction of property, it underscores the anti-regime sentiment boiling under the surface in provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan, as well as security vulnerabilities in Chabahar and beyond. The attack came at a time when security was reportedly heightened in preparation for Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Force Commander Brigadier-General Mohmmad Pakpour’s visit to Chabahar.
Chabahar serves as a symbolic target, as it is the country’s only port with direct access to the ocean and is largely exempt from U.S. sanctions. Chabahar, a Free Trade Industrial Zone, is also a symbol of economic and political inequality for the Sunni population in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The Sunni community frequently speaks out about the marginalization of their group.
The Iranian regime has typically maintained a tight grip on security throughout the country, but recent attacks in the past year have highlighted security vulnerabilities within the country and growing resentment toward the regime. The attack in Chabahar—while not devastating or an indication of an impending surge in attacks—is noteworthy both for being a rare suicide attack and because Chabahar is Iran’s primary means of circumventing U.S. sanctions. This places the regime in a complicated position in terms of how it frames the narrative of the attack.
Immediately following the attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif seemingly placed the blame on the UAE, and the regime frequently points to the Gulf nations as the source of insecurity within the country rather than acknowledging its local roots. [1] Although Ansar al-Furqan likely also operates or trains in the Pakistan border region—which was not mentioned by authorities—the group and the attack are rooted in local grievances that will only grow as the port comes closer to being operational, further fueling the economic disparity in the province and claims of political marginalization.
Notes
[1] Tweet posted by Javad Zarif on December 6 https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1070666069575122944
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