This incident was the deadliest since the onset of nationwide unrest over Mahsa Amini’s death and has attracted significant global attention. Headlines read that Iranian security officers opened fire on civilians following Friday prayers, after which the Sunni-majority Baluch population participated in protests, this time with additional local grievances over the alleged rape of a teenage Baluchi girl by a police officer [10].

The released video footage of the Zahedan protests shows that the protestors were almost certainly exclusively men. The protests in other Iranian cities had an overwhelming female presence and were often reported as “women-led protests” [11]. What happened in Zahedan was clearly different from what was happening throughout other regions in Iran.

The poverty-stricken Sistan and Baluchestan province has historically been a flashpoint for clashes with security forces, drug smuggling gangs, and extremist groups [12]. This is no secret to the Iranian people, who have previously mourned the killing of innocent civilians and security forces in Zahedan over terror attacks by extremists groups, such as Jundullah [13]. This militant organization, which has also been designated as a terrorist organization by the US, is widely known for fermenting unrest in the Sistan and Baluchestan province for decades. It has carried out killings, suicide bombings, and armed attacks in mosques and other public settings [14].

After conducting an investigation into the Zahedan killings, Iranian security council officials concluded that there was “negligence on the part of some officers” which “resulted in the injury and death of a number of civilians who were praying as well as uninvolved passerby” [31]. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) issued a statement following the council investigation announcing the dismissal of the chief of Zahedan police and the commander of the police station, and vowed to compensate the families of the innocent victims [9]. 

These victims were not among the armed groups breaking into the police station. The IRNA statement clarified that a number of armed militants exploited the atmosphere to attack civilians, vandalize public property, and create a public safety hazard, which required intervention by security forces.