Terrorists abduct Iranian forces at Pakistani border

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said terrorists have kidnapped a number of Iranian forces in the southeastern province of Sistan-baluchestan, which borders Pakistan.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the IRGC confirmed that local Basij volunteer forces and border guards had been among those abducted overnight near the town of Mirjaveh on the Pakistani border, Press TV reported.

Members of “terrorist groups led and backed by foreign services” carried out the kidnappings by “deceiving and bribing infiltrators.”

Iranian security forces, it added, are preparing to carry out operations to chase the terrorists and secure the release of those kidnapped.

It urged the Pakistani government to take serious action against the terrorists who are stationed along its common border with Iran and benefit from the backing of certain regional reactionary states that foster terrorism, Tasnim News Agency reported.

The statement also called on Pakistan to take action to immediately secure the release of the border guards and their return to Iran.

Earlier in the day, Iranian media quoted informed sources as saying that 14 Iranian forces had been abducted in the village of Lulakdan near Mirjaveh.

The Fars News Agency later revised the number of abductees down to 11.

Media reports are also speculating that the abductees had been poisoned by the terrorists prior to being crossed over into Pakistan.

Commander of the IRGC Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said Iran is ready for joint operations with Pakistan’s Army to secure the release of the abducted border guards.

Pakpour said members of the so-called ‘Jaish ul-adl’ terrorist group infiltrated the country from the Pakistani side of the border and took hostage a number of local Basij forces, border guards and two IRGC members.

He said the terrorists took the Iranian forces to Pakistani territory.

Stressing that Pakistan should shoulder responsibility for ensuring security in its border areas, the commander lamented the fact that a large number of Iranian border posts have been attacked from inside Pakistan in the past six months.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday Iran is ready to expand its trade, economic and political relations with European Union and described the bloc stance toward the Iran nuclear deal as ‘firm’.

In a meeting with new Belgian ambassador to Tehran, the president expressed hope that “Iran’s relations with EU members in economic fields and regarding the JCPOA, as well as regional issues further deepen,” president.ir reported.

He was referring to the official name of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal; the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US abandoned in May despite its allies and international organizations attesting to Iran’s compliance with the deal’s requirements.

“We believe that some oppose deep Iraneu ties and have plans to sabotage these good relations, which must not be allowed to be advanced,” Rouhani continued.

The president did not mention any specific issue, but Belgium has recently charged an Iranian diplomat and three other individuals over what it calls planning to bomb a meeting of a terrorist group residing in France in June. Iran has vehemently denied

In recent years, Iranian border guards have repeatedly come under attack by terror outfits active on the Pakistani soil.

The so-called Jaish ul-adl terror group – which is based in Pakistan – has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Tehran has repeatedly filed protests with Islamabad over its failure to end terror activities on the Pakistani side of the border. The two neighbors had signed a security deal in 2013.

Elsewhere in Tuesday’s statement, the IRGC said Iran expects Pakistan to deal with the terrorists seriously and work to facilitate the release of the abducted Iranian forces.

Iranian forces usually engage in clashes with terrorists in border regions, thwarting their attempts to infiltrate the country.

The group was formed in 2012 by members of the Pakistanbased Jundallah, another terror outfit which was dismantled by Iranian intelligence forces in 2010 after its ringleader, Abdolmalek Rigi, was executed.

Back in August, Iran managed to release a border guard from terrorist captivity. The guard had been abducted during an ambush on a border outpost in Mirjaveh and held in Pakistan for more than one year.