The Iranian regime has officially announced the establishment of a new police command for the southern region of Sistan and Baluchestan, a move it claims is aimed at improving security and local development. But activists and local observers warn that the plan is a veiled strategy to intensify repression in a region long marked by state violence and ethnic discrimination.
During his visit to Iranshahr on April 20, Brigadier General Ahmadreza Radan, commander of the regime’s State Security Forces, unveiled the new “South Sistan and Baluchestan Police Command” and appointed Brigadier General Morteza Jokar as its head. The headquarters is expected to be operational by September. Radan hailed the move as a step toward “sustainable security and local integration,” emphasizing the recruitment of 500 local youths into police ranks.
But beneath the official narrative lies a different story.
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A Security Facade for Systemic Repression
While state media portray the plan as a development milestone, local and dissident sources see it as part of a broader counterinsurgency effort targeting the province’s restive population. For years, Sistan and Baluchestan has witnessed deadly crackdowns, arbitrary arrests, and state-sanctioned executions—particularly following the bloody “Black Fridays” in Zahedan and Khash.
Critics argue that the new police command is not a response to development needs, but a reaction to the regime’s growing fear of insurgent groups and local uprisings. The region’s strategic location—bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan—and its history of resistance have long made it a thorn in the side of Iran’s central authorities.
“The regime failed to crush resistance through military means,” reads a statement from a Baluchi activist network. “Now, it’s resorting to deception—disguising repression as reform.”
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Co-opting Tribal Leaders, Recruiting Local Youths
Radan’s remarks during meetings with tribal elders and community leaders also raised concerns. He called on them to identify youths “with the characteristics of police officers” to be enlisted in the force—a move many interpret as an attempt to co-opt influential figures and turn communities against themselves.
“This isn’t about empowerment,” said one exiled Baluchi human rights advocate. “It’s about conscripting the oppressed to suppress their own.”
The strategy appears aimed at offsetting the regime’s reliance on non-local security forces, whose presence has often stoked tensions and resulted in violent confrontations. By recruiting from within, authorities hope to blur the line between occupation and governance.
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“Security” as a Weapon of Control
In his speeches, Radan lauded improvements in road access, electricity, and gas supply in parts of the province—echoing state propaganda that the region is on a “path to progress.” Yet for many residents, these claims ring hollow.
In practice, development remains deeply uneven, and government projects are often designed to serve military and extraction interests, not local communities. Meanwhile, reports of demolished homes, arbitrary detentions, and mass surveillance continue to fuel distrust.
A Region That Will Not Surrender
For many Baluchis, the new command structure is seen not as a solution but a symptom of Tehran’s desperation. From the memory of fallen protestors—including five-year-old Youssef Shahli-bar—to the swelling ranks of the unemployed and disenfranchised, the wounds are deep and the resolve, stronger than ever.
As Iran’s ruling clerics cling to control through militarization and manipulation, the people of Sistan and Baluchestan continue to demonstrate that no tactical reshuffle can subdue a population determined to reclaim its dignity and rights.