Nosrat Eftekhari, deputy for cultural and social affairs of the police command of Sistan and Baluchestan province, was killed on Friday, 9 October 2026, when a roadside bomb exploded on the Cheshmeh Ziarat road on the outskirts of Zahedan. The attack is the latest in a wave of armed attacks on the Islamic Republic's police and military forces in south-eastern Iran which, according to Voice of America, has since Thursday also spread to Kerman province.
According to Iran International, the spokesman for the provincial police command said Eftekhari had been sent to the outskirts of the city to deal with tribal matters and that the attack had targeted him. The spokesman claimed the bomber was killed "while fleeing", but gave no explanation of how he died. State media reported that several other officers were wounded. At the time of the reports, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Armed attacks spread to Kerman
On Thursday night, 8 October, Major Mahdi Jamshidi, head of the preventive police of Faryab county in Kerman province, was shot dead by armed men while driving his private car. BBC Persian, citing a statement from the Kerman police command, said the perpetrators were described as "unknown armed individuals". Haalvsh, a local Baluchistan news website, reported that in May–June this year Jamshidi was among the officers present during the clashes with women and other protesters in the village of Pashmaki.
According to Iran International, citing Haalvsh, between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon at least five military and police personnel were killed in four attacks in Nikshahr, Nosratabad (Zahedan), Faryab and Jaleq, and the number of dead and wounded exceeded 12. The "Popular Fighters Front" has claimed responsibility for some of these attacks, including the attack on the police command headquarters of Golshan county in Jaleq. State media initially denied the Jaleq attack and later confirmed that clashes had taken place. These figures have not been independently verified.
In less than 48 hours, two senior police commanders of the Islamic Republic were killed in Sistan and Baluchestan and Kerman.
Background to the unrest in Sistan and Baluchestan
According to Voice of America, clashes between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the army and the police and armed groups began in May–June this year, intensified this month and spread from the border areas to Zahedan, Saravan, Rask and Nikshahr. Officials and state media call the attackers "takfiri terrorists" and mostly blame the group Jaish al-Adl. The "Popular Fighters Front" was formed in November–December 2025 as a coalition of several Baluch groups, including Jaish al-Adl.
Sistan and Baluchestan is one of Iran's most deprived provinces, and Baluch citizens have for years complained of discrimination, poverty and widespread repression, including the "Bloody Friday" massacre in Zahedan in September 2022, when government forces opened fire on worshippers and protesters.
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