In addition to securing the country’ s eastern borders and confronting anti-revolutionary elements, Sistan and Baluchestan Province played a pivotal role during the Iran-Iraq War. Spanning approximately 187,500 square kilometers, it is Iran’ s second-largest province by area, yet remains one of the most sparsely populated regions. Geographically, it is divided into two distinct sectors: Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The province shares borders with South Khorasan and Afghanistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, the Sea of Oman to the south, and the provinces of Kerman and Hormozgan to the west.⁠[1] It comprises several counties, including Iranshahr, Chabahar, Khash, Dalgan, Zabol, Mehrestan, Zahedan, Zahak, Saravan, Sarbaz, Sib and Suran, Konarak, Nikshahr, Hirmand, Hamun, Nimruz, Qasr-e Qand, and Fanuj.⁠[2]

Located in an arid desert region, the province is home to Hamun Lake— the world’ s largest freshwater wetland— situated in the north. Strategically, the Chabahar Port serves as a vital commercial hub, connecting Iran’ s southeastern trade routes with Central Asia and neighboring countries, while the region also hosts the largest production base for tropical fruit seedlings in southeastern Iran.⁠[3] The province’ s diverse population, comprising both Sunni and Shia communities, has a long history of resistance against British and Portuguese incursions during the World War II.⁠[4] Due to its remote location and harsh geography, the region was frequently used as a site for internal exile for political dissidents during the Pahlavi era.⁠[5] According to the 2011 census, the population of the province stands at 2,405,742.⁠[6] Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the province faced periods of unrest as anti-revolutionary groups pushed for Baluchestan’ s autonomy. In response, on March 29, 1979, Imam Khomeini (ra) sent Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (ra) as his personal representative to the region to meet the demands of the local population.⁠[7]

With the establishment of the provincial Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on May 20, 1979, and the subsequent outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, the local population mobilized to support the frontlines. On June 2, 1981, the first group of volunteers from Zabol and Zahedan was deployed to Khuzestan, serving under the command of Dr. Mostafa Chamran (martyred) in the Irregular Warfare Headquarters.⁠[8] In October 1981, the IRGC’ s Region 6— comprising Kerman, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Hormozgan with its center in Kerman— was founded. These forces, together with Basij volunteers, played a dual role in securing the country’ s southeast and participating in war operations. Their efforts included countering armed insurgencies by groups such as the Baluch Mujahideen-e Khalq, Al-Furqan, and other opposition parties that engaged in conflict under ethnic or sectarian pretexts.⁠[9] The first major deployment of the Sistan and Baluchestan IRGC, known as the “ Great Dispatch”, took place in November 1981 during Operation Tariq al-Quds.⁠[10] Afterwards, since the province lacked an independent military unit from 1982 to 1985, forces were organized within the 41st Tharallah (as) Division of Kerman.⁠[11]

In the autumn of 1985, the “ Qaem (Unity) ” Battalion, consisting of Sunni Baluch volunteers, was formed.⁠[12] This was followed in early June 1986 by the 409th Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shuhada Battalion of Sistan and Baluchestan, a fully independent provincial unit that participated in various operations.⁠[13] By October 1986, the 405th Baqer al-Uloom (as) Battalion was formed and took part in Operation Karbala 5. In 1985, the 81st Nabovat Tribal Division was also created, utilizing local Basij units of Sunni nomads residing in the southern part of the province to maintain security and combat terrorist groups and armed insurgents.⁠[14] The province lost several prominent commanders during the Iran– Iraq War, including Gholamhassan Mirhussaini, Haj Qasem Mirhussaini, Habib Lakzaei, Mohebali Farsi, and Gholamhassan Khedri.

The 88th Armored Division of Zahedan (Army) was another prominent unit engaging the enemy during the war.⁠[15] On November 2, 1986, 109 personnel and commanders of this division were returning from the Sumar operational zone to Zahedan when their aircraft crashed, resulting in the martyrdom of everyone on board.⁠[16] Throughout the war, this division contributed 2,400 martyrs, 2,252 freed prisoners of war (POWs), 8,426 disabled veterans, and 40 missing-in-action.⁠[17] Notable martyrs of the 88th Division include Yaqoob Ahmad-Beigi, Gholammuhammad Nakhaei, Hussain Khazaei, Heydar Shahraki, Kianoosh Sabahi, Hamid-Reza Bostani, and Muhammad Shahraki.⁠[18] During the Iran-Iraq War, Jahad-e Sazandegi Organization of Sistan and Baluchestan created a war-support unit that organized the “ Ansar Companies”, mobilized local technical specialists and heavy machinery such as bulldozers, loaders, and civilian dump trucks, and coordinated the deployment of personnel, equipment, and logistical resources to the frontlines. The major initiatives undertaken by Jahad-e Sazandegi teams include operating five repair shops in Al-Faw, Majnoon, and Hoveyzeh, deploying 2,840 civilian dump trucks to the frontlines, setting up four service stations, sending 200 water tankers and 1,000 vehicles provided by government offices and local residents to the frontlines, and constructing 600 field baths, 10 field hospitals, 3,000 metal bunkers, 500 concrete bunkers, 800 sandbag bunkers, and 1,000 kilometers of embankments, as well as opening a lemon juice factory behind the lines. Jahad‑e Sazandegi of Sistan and Baluchestan contributed 55 martyrs, 77 disabled veterans, and 19 freed POWs during the Iran– Iraq War.⁠[19]

During the eight years of the conflict, approximately 80 teachers from the province were deployed to provide educational services to the fighters. The education sector’ s total contribution includes 2,175 combatants, 48 martyrs, 385 disabled veterans, and 82 freed POWs.⁠[20] Furthermore, 23 out of 36 deployed clerics were martyred.⁠[21] Women in the province contributed to the war effort not only by receiving military training, but also by collecting and sending public donations, providing medical care and nursing for the wounded, and supporting the mothers and wives of martyrs.⁠[22] Both Sunni and Shia mosques in the province served as primary hubs for mobilization, Basij registration, deployment to the frontlines, and the collection and dispatch of financial and in‑kind aid. Among these were the Grand Mosque of Zahedan, Hakim Mosque in Zabol, the grand mosques of Chabahar and Iranshahr, and the Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) Mosque in Zahedan.⁠[23]

Despite its distance from the frontlines— which spared it from missile strikes and aerial bombings— Sistan and Baluchestan Province contributed 934 martyrs, 4,000 disabled veterans, and 418 freed POWs during the Iran– Iraq War.⁠[24] Today, 54 memorials for unidentified martyrs exist in the province, 14 of which were built in 2019, and another 14 are currently under construction.⁠[25] Given its proximity to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the region has faced terrorist activities by groups like Jund al-Shaytan (Abdolmalek Rigi). Also, the Robat area, located at the tri‑border point of Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, has no effective cross‑border control from the neighboring states, which has turned it into a major hub for the distribution of narcotics into the province, the rest of the country, and beyond.⁠[26] Among the terrorist attacks that took place in Sistan and Baluchestan are the bombings of the Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) Mosque (2009) and the Grand Mosque of Zahedan (2010), which resulted in the martyrdom of 52 and injuries to 507 people.⁠[27] Following the emergence of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and its expansion across West Asia, a number of Shia and Sunni volunteer forces from the province were deployed to Syria in November 2015 under the banner of the “ Nabaviyyoon Brigade”, where they participated in various operations, and some of them were martyred.⁠[28]