Archive for Baloch nationalism

Jundallah, a Greater Balochistan and Tehran Conspiracies

Posted by: Ion | February 16th, 2007 · 7:22 PM

News today of another bombing in Zahedan, Southeastern Iran– or as Baloch nationalists would have it: Western Balochistan. It led to this interesting note in Time:

Separately, IRNA quoted an unnamed “responsible official” late Friday as saying that one of those arrested in Wednesday’s bombing has “confessed” that the attacks were part of alleged U.S. plans to provoke ethnic and religious violence in Iran. “This person who was behind the bombing confessed that those who trained them spoke in English,” IRNA quoted the official as saying. The agency did not identify the official nor the person arrested in Wednesday’s bombing but said his group had planned to kill local Sunni Muslim leaders to provoke religious violence in Iran.

Yes, a fairly cheap claim. But a revealing and interesting one given the perceptions in Tehran. The alleged relationship between Jundallah and the independence movements in Southeastern Iran, Pakistan and the United States respresents a substantial fissure within the Iranian political establishment’s collective imagination.

The Jundallah as you may know, are Baloch nationalists which distinguish themselves from other militant groups (such as the Baloch Liberation Army) due to the theological determinism of their propaganda. “Jundallah” means roughly, Army of God.

Conservative elements of the Iranian government are convinced the United States is funding and training the Jundallah, whilst the moderate faction tends to believe the Jundallah are allied to Al Qaeda. And there’s a range of opinion in between. Many in Iran would argue that Jundallah is in league with the United States and Al Qaeda simultaneously, or that they are in fact one and the same.

There is little evidence for any of this short of [forced] confessions, but Persia in both ancient and contemporary times is the motherland of grand conspiracy theorists. The result is some of the peculiarly idiosyncratic responses we often find emanating from Iran. Half accusation-half plea.