Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei numerous attempts in recent months to suppress the popular protests in Sistan and Baluchestan province failed. For this reason, on September 11, Khamenei met with officials of this province and issued a warning regarding the advance of “armed and prepared enemies.”
In the past, Khamenei has made repeated attempts to suppress and intimidate the uprising in Baluchestan by deploying his suppressive forces. However, the brave people of Baluchestan have made it clear that they are not frightened by killings and repression, and they will not allow the bloodshed of their brothers and sisters to go unchallenged.
In January 2022, Khamenei appointed Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Karami as the governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province. On that day, Baluch youth took to the streets chanting slogans declaring their rejection of a Basiji governor, stating that they would not accept oppression, whether through force or imprisonment, and that they would remain steadfast until the end. In response, the regime replaced provincial police chief Mohammad Ghanbari with IRGC colonel Doustali Jalili in February. But not even this measure managed to achieve the regime’s goal of suppressing the brave people of Sistan and Baluchestan.
According to the Mehr News Agency on September 2, Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Revolutionary Guards, in a meeting with regime authorities in Baluchestan, said, “The enemy has initiated a movement to create instability in the region. We have entrusted you with the responsibility of securing this area, and the enemy wants us to bring our forces from the center and turn this place into a military zone, and then they will claim that we have militarized the region.”
After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Khamenei personally acknowledged the seriousness and advancement of the Baluch youth and protesters, stating, “The enemy is serious in its enmity and in its plotting, and we are also extremely serious in confronting the enemy.”
He further commented on the negligence and vulnerability of his forces, saying, “If you fall asleep in your trenches, it doesn’t mean that the enemy has also fallen asleep in theirs. It is possible that they are awake and may take advantage of your slumber. This is the fundamental issue; we must not be negligent.”
In this meeting, the Supreme Leader clearly showed that his actions have utterly failed, from executions to continuous shootings and brutal murder of hard-working Baluch fuel porters, to cutting off the internet and sending his repressive forces from neighboring provinces and creating a severe security environment.
On September 8, before the security meeting of Supreme Leader in Baluchestan, Molavi Abdul Ghaffar Naqshbandi, an outspoken critic of the regime, said, “On the eve of the anniversary of the bloody tragedy of Zahedan, Khamenei’s executioners hastily joined hands to start a demonstration assembly in the form of a meeting with Khamenei… Try your might, we will test our guts… I swear to God that dying with honor next to the deprived Baluch people is better than living next to the tyrants and executioners of Khamenei.”
On June 16, the freedom-loving youth of Baluchestan reported the regime’s dispatching of forces to Sistan and Baluchestan and announced, “We the freedom-loving and -fighting youth of Baluchestan will teach Khamenei and his criminal corps and all his thugs a lesson that will remain in history.”