A terrorist attack targeting a courthouse in southeastern Iran on Saturday left at least nine people dead and 20 others wounded, including several judiciary staff members and security personnel. Three of the deceased were among the assailants, according to Iranian state media.
The assault took place in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, a region long plagued by violence involving separatist and extremist groups. The attackers, reportedly disguised as visitors, opened fire and detonated explosives inside the courthouse building.
Witnesses said one of the gunmen hurled a grenade into the courthouse lobby, killing a mother and her infant child. Other victims included members of the judiciary and courthouse security, with some reports suggesting the attackers breached judges' chambers during the assault.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deployed rapid response units to the scene. Following an intense firefight, all three assailants were killed by IRGC forces, bringing an end to the attack.
Responsibility for the incident was claimed by Jaish al-Adl ("Army of Justice"), a Sunni Baloch militant group that operates from Pakistan but is also active inside Iranian territory. The group posted a statement on Telegram claiming responsibility for the attack.
The incident is the latest in a series of violent confrontations between Iranian security forces and separatist or extremist groups operating in the country’s border regions. Sistan and Baluchestan, home to a significant Baloch Sunni population, has seen repeated clashes with groups such as Jaish al-Adl. In one such incident last October, 10 Iranian police officers were killed.
The attack came just hours after another armed confrontation occurred on Friday night in Kurdistan Province. According to Iranian officials, a member of the IRGC-aligned Basij militia was killed near the town of Baneh during a clash with fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed Kurdish separatist organization.
Iranian officials have previously accused foreign intelligence agencies of supporting anti-government militant groups within the country. In the wake of last month’s 12-day conflict with Israel and U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, concerns are growing in Tehran that internal security threats may be tied to external geopolitical agendas.