At Least Eight Iranian Security Personnel Killed in Three Weeks as IRGC Pay Claim Emerges

At least eight members of Iran’s security forces were killed in Sistan and Baluchestan during the three weeks through Oct. 14. The southeastern province has faced armed insurgent activity for years.

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was not paying its troops. He also said there were reports that Iran-aligned militias were withholding fighters’ pay and sending the money to the IRGC. The deaths have not been linked to Cooper’s pay allegations.

CENTCOM said Oct. 16 that U.S. measures had prevented at least $25 billion in Iranian crude exports and helped freeze nearly $350 million in cryptocurrency assets. The statement did not specify the period used for either estimate.

The $25 billion estimate concerned crude exports. Separately, at least eight tankers carrying Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July, with cargoes estimated at 4.1 million barrels. A tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel reached Myanmar in September. Those shipments involved petroleum products other than crude and do not contradict CENTCOM’s crude-export claim.