IRGC Members Killed in Attack in Iran
On Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) lost their lives due to a “terrorist and cowardly act” attributed to “anti-government and separatist agents.” The attack, which also injured two people, occurred in Paveh, near the Iraqi Kurdistan border.
Seper News, another state media outlet, later claimed that a group of saboteurs connected to the Kurdish separatists had crossed into Iran from the northwestern border and were subsequently confronted and killed by Revolutionary Guards forces. The report included unclear photos of the four individuals who died.
This incident adds to a troubling trend. There have been various attacks targeting Iranian security personnel in the primarily Kurdish western regions. Just on Tuesday, in addition to the Paveh incident, four Iranian operatives were killed in two separate armed assaults. Moreover, a gunman shot and killed two police officers at a security checkpoint in Bane.
A recent responsibility claim for the killings in Paveh came from a newly formed Kurdish militant group named Sole Heva, or “Sunshine of Hope.” The group stated it aims to “raise political awareness, bolster Kurdish national identity, and challenge the Islamic Republic’s policies.”
Sole Heva indicated that the attack was in retaliation for the Iranian government’s actions against protesters during the 2022 Women, Life and Freedom uprising. This unrest began after the morality police detained a Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly, leading to her death while in custody.
Additionally, the East Kurdistan Defense Forces (YRK) pledged revenge, mentioning that four militants died in clashes with the Revolutionary Guards in West Azerbaijan province on the same day.
The YRK remarked that its fighters “fought till the last drop of blood and heroically became martyrs.” They maintained that their struggle continues.
The YRK also distanced itself from any external influences, stating, “We are not aligned with any entity and have not conducted attacks against the Iranian regime,” suggesting rumors about foreign backing for Kurdish forces.
The Hengau Human Rights Organization, which focuses on Kurdish humanitarian issues, reported that since the U.S.-Iran peace agreement on June 17, Iran has conducted numerous missile and drone strikes against Kurdish opposition targets, mostly located in Iraqi Kurdistan rather than inside Iran.
Hengau noted that these attacks particularly targeted crowded areas housing families of Peshmerga members, resulting in casualties including at least three female Peshmerga fighters and a 17-year-old civilian. At least 20 other individuals sustained serious injuries.
On Monday night, Iranian state television indicated that a man and his daughter were killed by “Zionist-American mercenaries” in Sistan and Baluchistan. However, Hengau clarified that the victims were an IRGC member and his wife, who were fatally shot as they left the Revolutionary Guards’ headquarters in Saravan.
On the same day, another incident claimed the life of Mohammad Akbarzadeh, a political officer in the Revolutionary Guards Navy, in a car accident in Kerman province. Iranian media stated that the circumstances of the incident are under investigation, with no indication that it was an assassination.
Akbarzadeh, who has often commented on Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, had been under EU sanctions since June 8 for supporting actions that limit freedom of navigation in the area.
