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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Armed clashes reported in restive Iran province
2007-02-22
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21 – Armed clashes took place between a group of people and agent’s of Iran’s State Security Forces in the town of Iran-Shahr, south-eastern Iran, a local security official announced. A freedom fighter member of the resistance patriot “local troublemaker” called Vahed was killed in the clashes, Brigadier General Mohammad Arab said. His comments were reported in Tuesday’s edition of the semi-official daily Jomhouri Islami.

General Arab said that Vahed along with three other individuals were planning to carry out a road block in the village of Kheyrabad.

Iran-Shahr is situated in the restive province of Sistan-va-Baluchistan. At least 11 members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed and 31 others left injured last Wednesday when a bomb exploded next to their bus in the provincial capital of Zahedan.
I said in comments yesterday that this is the next step in things we need to encourage in Iran. Find ways to encourage the separatist movements without getting our fingerprints all over it (e.g., don't have our CIA guys fresh back from Italy in charge). The worst of the Mullahs and their thugs have to have unfortunate accidents. Stuff has to blow up: if the Bugtis can blow up pipelines in Pakistan, they can do it in Iran. We don't need to invade to bring the Mad Mullahs™ down.
Posted by:Steve White

#11  Balochistan map
Posted by: Bobby   2007-02-22 17:53  

#10  1. These are Sunnis, but I dont think theyre arabs, rather ethnic Baluchis

2. Some of them are probably tied into AQ. I would not suggest getting into bed with them. Even if you thought it could work against Iran with few side benefits for AQ, if it ever got out it do profound damage to the overall WOT.

3. Its not clear to me how ethnically fragile Iran actually is. Its about 50% minorities, IIUC, but that includes Azeris, many of whom are supportive of the regime (and some of the top mullahs are Azeri) I think undermining the regime has to involved turning ethnically Farsi Shia against it, not just the minorities, and going to hard in support of minorities might just alienate the Farsis. While we should maintain contact with the opposition, including the ethnic minorities, I still think our best shot is via economic sanctions.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2007-02-22 11:41  

#9  You mean Saudi money can be used for good?

Holy Shiite!

(sorry for the pun, I couldn't resist.)
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-02-22 10:14  

#8  There is some potential here for a big payoff for Pakistan. Baluchistan is split between them and Iran, creating headaches for both countries. But if Baluchistan could be united under Pakistan control, it would not only settle it down, but it would xfer this mineral rich region away from Iran.

If arranged by the US, this would make Perv our bestest buddy in the whole world, and would give him enough juice to really lean on his Islamists--maybe even enough to take over both Wazoos and actually own his own country.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-02-22 09:45  

#7  I don't think the Balochis are Arabs (nor are they Persian or Urdu). It seems to me they are a regional tribal confederation, similar, in that sense to the Kurds.

In any event they have two big gripes against the mullahs
- ethnic Baluchis are persecuted
- Sunnis are persecuted
Posted by: mhw   2007-02-22 09:22  

#6  Good job. Keep up the tapping there, Spook.
Posted by: Mike   2007-02-22 08:08  

#5  Very interesting observation there, OldSpook.
Posted by: phil_b   2007-02-22 07:49  

#4  "Imagine that Iran is a hardboiled egg with a thin shell. We should tap it lightly wherever we can — until tiny fissures join and shatter the shell."

--Victor Davis Hanson
Posted by: Mike   2007-02-22 06:29  

#3  I would be happy to throw in a dollar.
Posted by: SteveS   2007-02-22 06:00  

#2  A day late & a dollar short.
Posted by: gromgoru   2007-02-22 03:15  

#1  These are Arabs rebelling against the Persians.

And, as Iraq has shown, the Arab (Sunni) can no longer stand by while the US and Iraq provide a counterweight to the Iranians.

No US finger prints, but I bet there's Saudi money (and if we are doing our jobs right in spookland, we are telling the saudis exactly who and how much to pay).
Posted by: OldSpook   2007-02-22 02:48  

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