A deadly clash between Iranian security forces and militants in Sistan-Baluchestan province has brought renewed attention to a long-running Baluch insurgency in southeastern Iran and the emergence of a new coalition, as the ongoing confrontation with the United States keeps Tehran under pressure.

On Sept. 12, Iranian authorities announced that at least three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members and five members of the Popular Fighters Front had been killed in an hours-long raid by hundreds of security forces on PFF hideouts in Saravan, about 1,300 kilometers (807 miles) from Tehran.

The PFF, a coalition of several Baluch factions, adds another organizational layer to an insurgency that has persisted for years in Sistan-Baluchestan, where Jaish ul-Adl, a Sunni Islamist and Baluch armed group, has operated since 2012. The merger, which includes Jaish ul-Adl, took place late last year, but the coalition's emergence has not marked the disappearance of Jaish al-Adl, as it continues to receive mention in the news.

Shooting between the IRGC and PFF continued for a second day, with security forces still deployed in Saravan and roads leading to the site of the clashes blocked. The IRGC’s Quds Base, which oversees security in the southeast, described the operation as targeting a “professional, terrorist team” and warned that threatening the security of Sistan-Baluchestan was a “red line.”