Senior IRGC General Hossein Zarifi Killed in Clashes in Southeastern Iran

A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi, has been killed during clashes with armed fighters in southeastern Iran. Zarifi was the commander of the IRGC’s Shahid Sajjad Operational Headquarters in Saravan, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, near Iran’s border with Pakistan.

The IRGC’s Quds Base confirmed his death in a statement, saying Zarifi was killed while taking part in an operation against what Iranian authorities described as an enemy-backed militant group. The fighting took place in the Jihadabad area of Saravan on Wednesday, September 23. Iranian state media reported that security forces had launched an operation against an armed group that authorities said was planning an attack in the area.

Iranian authorities said five members of the armed group were killed and several others arrested during the operation. Weapons and ammunition were also reportedly seized.

Local Baloch rights outlet Haalvsh reported that the clashes resulted in additional casualties among Iranian security personnel. It also identified Ahmad Harati Zera’ati, an intelligence commander at the Sajjad base, among those killed. These additional casualty claims have not been independently verified.

Reports from Iranian media and regional sources differ on the precise circumstances of Zarifi’s death. While some accounts describe him as being killed during the security operation, available reporting does not independently establish that he was specifically killed in an ambush.

Sistan and Baluchestan has long experienced armed attacks and clashes involving Iranian security forces and Baloch militant groups. The province borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan and has been the scene of repeated security operations in recent years.

The killing of Zarifi comes amid an increase in Iranian security operations in the region. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War and Critical Threats Project assessed that an anti-government Baloch militant coalition may have been responsible for the deaths of Zarifi and Zera’ati, although the exact sequence and circumstances of the clashes remained unclear.

Zarifi’s funeral is scheduled to take place in Saravan on Friday, according to the IRGC statement. The incident represents the latest significant confrontation between Iranian security forces and armed groups operating in Sistan and Baluchestan.