A prominent Sunni tribal elder in Iran’s restive Sistan-Baluchestan province was shot dead on Sunday, the latest in a series of targeted killings that authorities blame on foreign-backed terrorist groups.
Mullah Kamal Salahi-zehi, a well-known community leader in the town of Sarbaz, was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in Iranshahr, according to Iranian state media. His son was wounded and taken to hospital.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards condemned what it called a “cowardly terrorist act,” saying in a statement that “mercenary groups linked to the evil Zionist regime” were behind the attack.
It added in the statement that those killed in recent weeks included “the honorable martyrs Mullah Kamal, Reza Azarkish, Parviz Kadkhodaei, and Shams Askani,” and vowed that “the perpetrators and masterminds of these crimes will soon face punishment.”
The statement said such attacks aimed to “undermine the unity of Shia and Sunni communities” in the region but would “never shake the firm resolve of the Iranian nation.”
Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, described Mullah Kamal as one of the “defenders of the Islamic Republic” and wrote: “He always took firm and explicit positions against hostile movements and agents linked to Israel and global arrogance.”
However, the Baluch Activists Campaign offered a different account of Mullah Kamal’s positions, implicitly suggesting that the Islamic Republic was responsible for his killing.
The local outlet portrayed Mullah Kamal as a respected community leader, peace-seeking social activist, and a prominent figure “opposed to the Islamic Republic” in the 1980s and 1990s, who had repeatedly clashed with military forces. However, he stopped his struggle against the Islamic Republic after mediation by local elders.
According to the report, the Islamic Republic had made several attempts to assassinate Mullah Kamal both before and after granting him a guarantee of safety.
The killing follows several similar incidents in recent months.
In September, Reza Azarkish, a local Basij militia member, was shot dead in Iranshahr. Earlier in the month, Iraj Shams Askani, a member of the Revolutionary Guards, was gunned down in the border town of Rask, in an attack claimed by the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl.
Earlier this month, Parviz Kadkhodaei, a local Basij commander in Nikshahr, was killed in a separate assault.
The province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been the scene of attacks by Sunni insurgent groups that Tehran says are backed by foreign intelligence services.
