Sistan-Baluchistan

Sistan-Baluchistan is Iran's largest province by area, occupying the south-eastern corner of the country and sharing borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The population is predominantly Baluch and Sunni Muslim, setting it apart from Iran's Shia majority; it is also among the country's poorest provinces by per-Capita income and human development indicators. The provincial capital is Zahedan. Its geography, a mix of desert, semi-arid scrub, and river valleys, has long made it difficult to police, creating conditions that sustain both smuggling networks and armed insurgency.

On 7 June 2026 the IRGC reported an operation in Saravan, a city within Sistan-Baluchistan, in which four anti-regime fighters were killed and Starlink satellite terminals were seized. The seizure signals that the regime views satellite communications as an active enabler of insurgent coordination in the province, beyond the reach of Iran's domestic internet controls. Sistan-Baluchistan has seen repeated IRGC operations since the 2022-23 nationwide protests spread to the region, and the June 2026 raid reflects the continuing effort to suppress armed opposition in a province where the state's grip has historically been weakest. The province's proximity to Afghanistan's volatile south-east adds a further dimension: weapons and personnel can cross three borders with relative ease, complicating Iranian security operations.

Sistan-Baluchistan was placed on heat alert, without formal office closures, as a 45C-plus heatwave forced neighbouring Khuzestan to send civil servants home on 19-20 July 2026.