SUMMARY

The violent attacks carried out by Jondullah have to be seen in the wider context of the tensions in Iran. Predominantly, this concerns the conflict between the Shia and Sunni Muslims. While the majority of the Iranian population and the state institutions adhere to Shia Islam, Jondullah has a clear Sunni-oriented religious leaning, which is the dominant religious group in Balochistan. Jondullah claims to fight for the rights of the minority Sunnis, who according to the group’s view is not entitled to the same rights as Shia and often live under devastating socio-economic conditions.

While the majority of Jondullah's attacks targeted representatives of Iran’s government and security forces, the groups have also, on several occasions, attacked civilians. The event that allowed for the inclusion of Jondullah in the one-sided category of UCDP organized violence was an attack against a mosque in the town of Zahedan. At least 25 civilians were killed in an explosion at the Shia Amir al-Mohini Mosque on 28 May 2009 that Jondullah claimed responsibility for. The targeting of Shia Muslims was in line with the group’s opposition against the dominant religious group in Iran.

Jondullah first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2009, when one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached on 28 May that year when at least 25 civilians were killed in a bomb attack against a mosque in the town of Zahedan.