TEHRAN -- Iran’s Islamic 
Revolution Guards Corps Ground Force has dismantled a terrorist team in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing five gunmen and capturing several others.
The Quds Base of the IRGC Ground Force said in a statement that the terror team, which intended to carry out an assassination in Saravan County near the border with Pakistan, was detected and dealt a heavy blow. 
The operation involved servicemen from the IRGC Ground Force, the Ministry of Intelligence and the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA).
An IRGC serviceman was martyred during the armed confrontation. Iranian forces also seized a consignment of ammunition and weapons from the terrorists’ hideout.
The terror team reportedly planned attacks across Sistan and Baluchestan Province as part of U.S. and Israeli plots to undermine security in southeastern Iran.
The operation came after Brigadier General Hussein Zarifi, commander of the Shahid Sajjad Operational Headquarters in Saravan, was martyred while taking part in an operation against enemy-backed terrorists in the same county. 
The IRGC Ground Forces’ Quds Regional Headquarters described Zarifi as a courageous commander martyred while defending the Islamic homeland. His funeral procession was held in Saravan on Friday.
On September 12, four terrorists were killed and three Iranian intelligence forces were martyred in an operation targeting a terrorist team planning an assassination mission in Saravan County.
Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has witnessed several terrorist attacks targeting civilians and security forces in recent years. Terrorist groups carrying out attacks against Iranian interests have been reported to have links to repressive regimes in the Persian Gulf region.
In recent weeks, Iran’s southeastern and western border regions have witnessed a series of attacks targeting security forces and civilians alike. 
The attacks come amid mounting evidence that hostile foreign powers — chief among them the United States and Israel — have been actively working to destabilize the Islamic Republic by arming, funding, and infiltrating terrorist groups into the country’s border areas.
American officials have spoken openly about “supporting opposition groups” and “empowering voices inside Iran,” while Israeli leaders have repeatedly boasted of efforts to “export terrorism” and “ignite chaos” within Iran’s borders.
Intelligence revelations and intercepted communications have exposed the direct role of Western and Israeli spy agencies in recruiting, training, equipping, and deploying terrorist elements into Iran.
Iranian security forces have maintained a high level of vigilance along border areas, thwarting numerous terrorist plots by foreign-backed anti-revolution elements across the country.