In a major counterintelligence breakthrough, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out simultaneous covert operations across eight cities and border towns in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, dismantling an Indian-operated espionage network allegedly acting on the directives of Israel’s Mossad.
According to sources, the operation led to the arrest of 312 operatives, a majority of whom were reportedly affiliated with banned Baloch militant organizations including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), and their political front, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). A significant number of those detained were found in possession of Pakistani identification documents, prompting Tehran to withhold public disclosure of the arrests due to diplomatic sensitivities.
The covert network was exposed when Iranian signals intelligence units intercepted encrypted data from an Israeli-manufactured BlueBird “Zohal-X” drone near the strategic port city of Chabahar. The successful interception marked the first indication of an active foreign intelligence network operating in the region.
Following the interception, Iranian financial intelligence units traced a suspicious money trail originating from Horizon Commodities FZE, a company registered in Dubai. The funds—amounting to nearly $700,000—were transferred to a Quetta-based shell entity identified as Baloch Brothers Trading. This financial link substantiated concerns of coordinated subversive activity spanning both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border.
The arrests and discoveries underscore growing regional concerns about external intelligence agencies exploiting ethno-separatist movements to destabilize the borderlands of Pakistan and Iran.
