Iranian police officer killed in attack in restive southeast

On Tuesday, Iranian police confirmed the death of one of their officers in an attack by unidentified assailants in Sistan-Baluchistan province, a region in the country's southeast known for its rural poverty and frequent clashes with armed groups. Third Lieutenant Hojat Vafakardeh was honored as a martyr following the armed assault on a Criminal Investigation Police officer in Saravan county.

Police and security forces are actively working to identify and apprehend those responsible for this "cowardly" attack, though the perpetrators remain unknown. Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces, has a history of conflict involving security forces and armed factions, including separatist elements. The province shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is home to a predominantly Sunni Baluch population.

On Monday, it was reported that terrorist groups had carried out an attack on a vehicle carrying engineers and contractors in the same region. Earlier that day, the Revolutionary Guards' local headquarters claimed to have ambushed a terrorist team and subsequently carried out an operation, killing one of its members and arresting several others.

The intelligence ministry reported on Thursday that they had dismantled four operational cells of a terrorist-takfiri group, arresting 16 individuals and detaining three others for allegedly providing information to US-Zionist centers. In mid-October, two more members of Iran's security forces were killed in separate attacks by gunmen in the same area.