Armed Rebel Coalition Steps Up Attacks on Iranian Regime Forces in the Southeast, Fox Reports
A group called the People's Fighters Front claims six strikes in Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman. Experts told Fox the rebels cannot take control of the region but could weaken Tehran's grip and shake its forces.
Trouble is growing for Tehran far from the capital. Fox News reports that a coalition of armed opposition groups is stepping up attacks on regime forces in southeastern Iran, in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman. The Fox report is dated Oct. 20.
The group. The coalition calls itself the People's Fighters Front, known as JMM. Fox says it formed in December 2025 from Baloch nationalist organizations and the militant Sunni group Jaish al-Adl, and that it has claimed six strikes. Sistan and Baluchistan is Iran's second-largest province and majority Sunni, in a country that is largely Shiite. Fox notes the Sunni minority has faced discrimination for decades.
The numbers. Fox cites the Human Rights Activist News Agency, which counted at least 63 armed incidents in the two provinces between March 31 and Oct. 10, 2026, with at least 94 dead and 33 injured. Official sources reported 87 deaths and 10 injuries. The agency said 18 incidents came in the final 18 days of its reporting period, more than any earlier full month.
Recent attacks. Fox says the coalition killed women members of the Basij militia, including a commander, and a police officer on Oct. 14. Days earlier, regime-run media reported that a provincial law enforcement official was killed by a roadside bomb in Zahedan. The U.S. government has designated the Basij a terrorist entity as part of the Revolutionary Guard.
What the experts say. Iran analyst Mardo Soghom said the unrest can stretch the regime's forces and have a psychological effect, adding that the groups "would not be able to establish control of the south-east, but they can seriously weaken the regime's control." Jason Brodsky of United Against Nuclear Iran said he does not see a seizure of control as imminent, but that Iranians across the opposition treat the country's territorial integrity as a red line. Another analyst, Navid Mohebbi, said the group's statements avoid Baluch separatism and aim at ending the system of clerical rule, though he said many Iranians distrust such groups over fears of separatism and radical Islamism. Beni Sabti of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies said the armed revolt is confined to Baluchistan.
Note for readers: Fox says there are almost no reporters in the region, so claims about attacks and casualties are hard to verify. We have not independently confirmed them.