Militant group attacks courthouse in Iran, killing at least six

At least six individuals lost their lives, and 22 others sustained injuries during a violent attack perpetrated by three militants associated with Jaish al-Adl in Zahedan, the capital city of Sistan-Baluchistan province in Iran, on July 26, 2025. The Iranian judiciary has officially characterized this brutal assault as a terrorist act, underlining the severe implications it holds for security in the region. Jaish al-Adl, which identifies itself as a Baluch separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack via a statement distributed through their Telegram channel, issuing a warning to judiciary personnel that Sistan-Baluchistan is now unsafe for them. In a subsequent encounter during the attack, Iranian media confirmed that all three attackers lost their lives. This incident marks the deadliest attack attributed to Jaish al-Adl in Iran since October 2024, when militants ambushed a police convoy, resulting in the death of ten officers. The group has long been known for its clashes with Iranian security forces and border guards throughout Sistan-Baluchistan province, often resulting in violence that encompasses hostage-taking and the killing of security personnel. Historically, the Baluch minority has faced systemic discrimination and violence from the Iranian authorities, largely due to their ethnic and religious identity, as many are Sunni Muslims in a predominantly Shi'ite Muslim country. The region of Sistan-Baluchistan is also fraught with challenges, being a critical transit route for narcotics smuggled from neighboring Afghanistan to various destinations, including Western markets, complicating the local security dynamics further. This multifaceted strife demonstrates the ongoing issues of ethnic tensions and militant violence embedded in the historical context of the Iranian state's treatment of minority groups and broader geopolitical factors involving narcotics trafficking.