On February 13, 2019, a suicide bombing on the Khash–
Zahedan
Zahedan (Balochi language, Balochi and ; ) is a city in the Central District (Zahedan County), Central District of Zahedan County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, th ...
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
killed at least 27
Revolutionary Guards
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...
and wounded another 13. It was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Iran in years. The Salafi jihadist militant organization
Jaish ul-Adl
Jaysh al-Adl () is a Baloch people, Baloch Sunni, Sunni jihadist militant organization that operates mainly in the Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeastern Iran, where there is a porous border with Pakistan.
The group has claimed respons ...
("Army of Justice") said it carried out the bombing.
Bombing
The bomber targeted a bus transporting military personnel on the Khash–Zahedan road ( Road 95) in Sistan and Baluchestan province, near the border with Pakistan. The area is a refuge for militant
separatist
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, regional, governmental, or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seekin ...
groups and
drug smuggler
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...
s. The bomber detonated a car full of explosives near the bus, killing 27
Revolutionary Guards
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...
and injuring 13. The soldiers were coming back to their cities after carrying out the border mission by the bus.
Jaish al-Adl, a separatist militant group, and involved in some of the recent
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
activities in southeast Iran, took responsibility for the attack. In October 2018, eleven Iranian border Guards were kidnapped by the group, with only five of them later released.
The Senior Revolutionary Guards commander of Iran claimed that the suicide bomber was a
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
national and one other member of the militant cell that planned the attack was also Pakistani. Furthermore, he claimed that three other members of militant cells were Iranian nationals from Sistan and Baluchestan. Out of those three Iranians, two were arrested.
Reactions
Ali Khamenei
Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...
,
Supreme Leader of Iran
The supreme leader of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the supreme leadership authority, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran (above the Presi ...
declared that ''"It is evidently certain that the perpetrators of this crime are connected to the intelligence services of some of the countries inside as well as outside the region."'' Iranian president,
Hassan Rouhani
Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...
claimed that the
United States of America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
was behind the attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guards bus. He also vowed revenge against Jaish Al-Adl.
Iran's Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif
Mohammad Javad Zarif (; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He served as the vice president for strategic affairs from August 2024 to March 2025.U.S.-sponsored Mideast meeting in Warsaw. Zarif tweeted Wednesday night: "Is it no coincidence that Iran is hit by terror on the very day that #WarsawCircus begins? Especially when cohorts of the same terrorists cheer it from Warsaw streets & support it with
Twitter bot
A Twitter bot or an X bot is a type of software bot that controls a Twitter/X account via the Twitter API. The social bot software may autonomously perform actions such as tweeting, retweeting, liking, following, unfollowing, or direct messagin ...
s?"
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi
Sayyid Abbas Araghchi (, ; also spelled Araqchi, born 5 December 1962) is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign A ...
met with India's External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj (''née'' Sharma; 14 February 1952 – 6 August 2019; ) was an Indian lawyer, politician and diplomat who served as the 5th Chief Minister of Delhi, and also the Minister of External Affairs of India in the first Narendra Modi ...
and referring to both the 2019 Khash–Zahedan suicide bombing and the
2019 Pulwama attack
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film
* '' Di ...
, he stated: ''"Iran and India suffered from two heinous terrorist attacks in the past few days resulted in big casualties. Today in my meeting with Sushma Swaraj the Indian FM, when she had a stopover in Tehran, we agreed on close cooperation to combat terrorism in the region. Enough is enough!"''
Iranian Major General
Mohammad Ali Jafari
Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari (, born 1 September 1957, also known as Aziz Jafari and Ali Jafari) is a retired Iranian military officer and former commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from 2007 to 2019. He was ...
alleged that the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
ordered Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to carry out the attack. He also asked Pakistan to conduct a crackdown against the armed group Jaish al-Adl before Tehran "takes it revenge." Pakistan offered Iran cooperation in investigating the bombing and expressed sympathy for the victims of the attack. A Pakistani delegation was due to travel to Iran.
Bahram Qassemi, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman declared "
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
will avenge the attack" and said it would not tolerate what it saw as Pakistan's "inability to stop
cross-border
Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...
attacks in Iran."
Ali Larijani
Ali Ardashir Larijani (born 3 June 1958) is an Iranian politician and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020. He has been a member of the Expediency ...
, Iran's parliament speaker blamed Pakistan for the attack, saying that the attack was "planned and carried out from inside Pakistan". Muhammad Beghari, the military commander of Iran, told Pakistan to "either confront the terrorist groups or allow Iranian forces in."
Mourning
The mourning for the victims was held one day after the attack in
Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
, Iran. The bodies of the victims were flown to Isfahan where press representatives and the affected families were waiting. The mourning ceremony was widely covered by media in Iran and the interview with families of the victims went viral in Iranian social media.
Ahvaz military parade attack
On 22 September 2018, a military parade
A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on ...
*
Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations designated as terrorist organizations by the Iranian gover ...