At least two killed in clashes with a “terrorist” cell in southern Iran

At least two people were killed in what Iran's Revolutionary Guard described as an operation against a terrorist cell linked to the United States in the southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The military said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the cell was “affiliated with the infamous Zionist regime and the terrorist regime of the United States” and intended to carry out terrorist acts as part of what it called the US war. The Guard did not say where the clashes took place or identify the group involved.

Sistan and Baluchestan borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and has a predominantly Sunni population. Extremist groups opposed to Iran's Shiite government operate there, alongside smuggling and drug-trafficking networks. The area regularly sees confrontations between Iranian security forces and armed groups, including Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni organization seeking the region's independence that Iran considers terrorist.

Iranian authorities have arrested thousands of suspected “spies” and “traitors to the homeland” since the war with the United States and Israel began on February 28. The arrests have come amid tighter security measures and an intensified crackdown on opposition groups and participants in January protests.

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The terrorist cell affiliated with the infamous Zionist regime and the terrorist regime of the United States intended to carry out terrorist acts as part of the US war.