Police Chief: Security in Sistan and Balouchestan Province Under Full Control

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran’s Police Chief Brigadier General Esmayeel Ahmadi Moqaddam underlined on Monday that the security situation in the country’s Southeastern Sistan and Balouchestan province is under full control of police and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) forces.

“Security in the South of Sistan and Balouchestan province is under control with the help of the IRGC,” Ahmadi Moqaddam told reporters in a press conference in Zahedan, the capital city of Sistan and Balouchestan province, on Monday.

The southern parts of the province were used by Jeish Al-Adl terrorist group to carry out operations and escape to neighboring Pakistan.

Ahmadi Moqaddam said that the security situation of Sistan and Balouchestan province is gradually improving as additional measures have been adopted to strengthen the border guards in this region.

“To strengthen security at borders, the first step is building roads, establishment of outposts, using electricity and optical fibers and erecting barriers to decrease different border-related crimes, including goods and fuel smuggling.

Iran intensified security measures in Sistan and Balouchestan province after Pakistan-based Jeish al-Adl terrorist group did a number of terrorist operations in the province in the last several months. The group is based in Pakistan and escapes to the country each time it conducts an operations in Iran.

To have a better monitoring and control over the borders, Iranian border guard forces have announced that they plan to make use of various technological tools and equipment to better fight such terrorist actions.

In March 2013, Commander of the Iranian Border Guards Units General Hossein Zolfaqari announced Iranian border guards have begun testing UAVs for patrolling the country’s Eastern borders.

“The implementation of this project has begun in South Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces, and multiple daily flights are conducted to evaluate the performance of the drones,” Zolfaqari said.

He added that upon the completion of the pilot project, Iranian border guards will use UAVs to patrol borders.

In April 2014, General Zolfaqari said that Iran plans to modernize its borders monitoring system.

“Border monitoring system will be deployed in border regions after the parliament allocates the needed budget,” General Zolfaqari told reporters on the sidelines of Eqtedar (Might) 3 border guards exercises in the Western province of Kermanshah.

He noted that border monitoring systems will help better control border conditions and movements, and “through the online observation of the borders, the border checkpoints will be notified in case of having a weakness (in their performance).”

General Zolfaqari also added that once the monitoring systems are stationed, electronic watch towers will be set up along the borders as well.

Earlier, Zolfaqari said that his forces had tested new weapons and reconnaissance balloons in their four-day-long exercises in the Western parts of the country.

“We have used the new weapons in different scenarios and in various time frames,” General Zolfaqari told reporters.

He pointed to using two reconnaissance balloons in the drills, and said, “The balloons took photos from the entire region in a bid to study all the movements in drill zone.”

He reiterated that all possible scenarios were considered and the weapons were used in different face-to-face combat situations during the drills.