Ten Arrested in Connection with Chabahar Attack and New Programs for Border Residents

According to an Interior Ministry official, the identity of the Chabahar suicide attacker has been identified. He also announced consideration of “exemptions” for border residents. According to the police commander, 10 people have been arrested in connection with the Chabahar attack.

Hossein Zolfaqari, the security and police deputy of Iran’s Interior Ministry, said on Sunday, December 18 (December 9), referring to “one of the groups” taking responsibility for the recent suicide operation in Chabahar: “The identity of the person who carried out this operation has been identified.”

An explosion of a car bomb last Thursday in front of the entrance to the police headquarters in Chabahar city in Sistan and Baluchestan province killed two people and wounded at least 43. Iranian authorities stated that the perpetrator of this operation intended to enter the police headquarters, but due to the resistance of police officers, was forced to detonate the vehicle in front of the building.

Earlier, some news agencies reported that the “Ansar al-Furqan” group, a splinter group of “Jundallah,” claimed responsibility for this suicide attack. According to Iranian authorities, Jali Ghanbarzadeh, the leader of this group, was killed by Islamic Republic military forces in June 2017.

Arrest of 10 People

The security and police deputy of Iran’s Interior Ministry, without further explanation about the identity of the perpetrator, said: “The vehicle in which the bomb was planted also belonged to a person who died about a year ago, and the vehicle was in the possession of another person.” Zolfaqari reminded: “Security and judicial officials in the region are pursuing this matter.”

Simultaneously, Hossein Ashteri, the commander of the Islamic Republic’s police force, also speaking about the number of those arrested in connection with the recent suicide operation in Chabahar, said: “According to the statistics given to us so far, 10 people have been arrested by the police and other agencies, and a number of other individuals related to these people have been identified and will be arrested at a specified time.”

Official Islamic Republic authorities claim “involvement” of regional countries in this attack and have specifically named Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, threatened the perpetrators and “masterminds” of the Chabahar suicide attack with retaliation and wrote on Twitter: “We have shown in the past that such crimes will not go unpunished: In 2010, our security services tracked down and arrested extremists coming from the UAE. Remember my words: Iran will bring terrorists and their masters to the court of justice.”

Some interpreted Zarif’s tweet as a reference to the arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the Jundallah group, who, according to Islamic Republic authorities, was arrested in Iranian airspace in early March 2010.

Ramadan Sharif, spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also said last Thursday: “Terrorist groups are mostly connected to foreign security services like Saudi Arabia and constantly try to create insecurity in our border areas.”

Mahmoud Alavi, Iran’s Intelligence Minister, also claimed last Saturday that “currents and security services in the region” were involved in the Chabahar incident and, referring to “policies and strategies” of Israel in this suicide attack, said: “Unfortunately, America also supports this terrorist current.”

Domestic Root or External Agent?

The endangerment of the security of Chabahar, a “strategic and vital port” and the closest port to international waters, could have serious consequences for the Islamic Republic. Islamic Republic authorities, regarding the possible reasons for choosing Chabahar as the target of the suicide operation, emphasize more on the “conspiracy” of countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel aimed at further destabilizing Iran’s economic situation and intensifying tensions and deepening social divisions.

In their view, the terrorist attack in Ahvaz two months ago, which left 24 dead, was carried out with the same objective. In contrast, some critics of the Islamic Republic attribute the root cause of insecurity in provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan to ethnic discrimination and widespread public discontent in these deprived areas.

The website “Alef,” attributed to Ahmad Tavakkoli, a principlist member of the Expediency Discernment Council, referring to various hypotheses regarding why Chabahar was targeted, wrote: “The important point is that in addition to economic sanctions by Americans, complex conspiracies are being implemented to create and induce insecurity that targets social cohesion, economic conditions, and Iranian ethnicities. Although the movements of enemies have so far failed, this fact doubles the necessity for vigilance, preparedness, and confronting such conspiracies.”

The security and police deputy of Iran’s Interior Ministry also said in part of his remarks today: “These terrorist incidents affect issues related to the country’s security and economy, and we must consider both the security and livelihood of the people; we cannot give importance to one and neglect the other. Both of these have meaning together.”

“Ensuring Livelihood” for Defense of Security

Hossein Zolfaqari, referring to the establishment of 15 border bazaars in four border provinces of Iran and “exemptions considered for border residents,” said: “Over the past two years, in cooperation with all ministries, it was decided that for people in border areas, in addition to exemptions provided by law, up to 2 million and 800 thousand tomans per month in exemptions would be provided for each family.”

The security and police deputy of the Interior Ministry, stating that “many of the goods covered by exemptions faced some import restrictions,” reminded: “We again held meetings with relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, as well as the Headquarters for Combating Commodity Smuggling, and 132 items of goods were reviewed so that there would be no issues regarding the country’s general policies in relation to economic matters in the post-JCPOA period, given America’s withdrawal from the JCPOA. In the end, we identified these 132 items and sent them to the government; the government’s economic commission also approved these 132 items, and we are waiting for the government to ratify them.”

This Iranian Interior Ministry official emphasized that if the livelihood of border residents is ensured, they will be “the best defenders of borders and protectors of border areas.”

Source: DW