By Pishtaz | 2025-01-04

A suicide bomber killed the head of police intelligence in Iran's southern port city of Bandar-e Lengeh on December 28, underscoring the regime's faltering security as it prioritizes regional military expansion and proxy funding.

Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Furqan claimed responsibility for the attack that killed Capt. Mojtaba Shahidi and wounded his deputy, while Iranian officials confirmed the attacker died in the explosion, AFP reported.

In January 2024, the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) carried out twin suicide bombings in Kerman, killing close to 100 people at a memorial for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

While domestic security threats increase, the Iranian regime in October announced plans to raise its military budget by 200%. The IRGC is expected to receive a substantial share, given its dominant military and political role.

The IRGC has expanded control over Iran's oil exports to 50%, up from 20% three years ago, managing clandestine tanker fleets and front companies for sales primarily to China, Reuters reported December 18.

The Iranian regime generates over $50 billion annually from the sale of oil, even under sanctions, directing substantial resources toward its external operations.

It provides over $700 million annually to Lebanese Hizbullah, and has spent billions propping up the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and supporting proxies in Iraq and Yemen, according to the Iran Action Group.

"The Iranian regime spends nearly a billion dollars a year just to support terrorism," then-US State Department coordinator for counterterrorism Nathan Sales said in 2018.

"The resources Iran uses to fund its global terrorist campaign come directly out of the pockets of ordinary Iranians."

Terror at home

Iran has been plagued by a string of domestic attacks, despite its extensive intelligence and surveillance apparatus.

These include Jaish al-Adl's killing of two police officers in Zahedan in July 2023 and another Jaish al-Adl assault killing 11 police officers in Sistan-Baluchistan in December 2023.

The regime's intelligence infrastructure is largely focused on monitoring dissent and opposition rather than countering terrorism, Nima Khorrami wrote for the Fikra Forum.

Security forces dedicate significant resources to tracking ordinary citizens and activists through specialized cyber tools and spyware programs, he noted.

As Tehran continues to monitor civil society activists and prioritize its external operations, its domestic security challenges show no signs of abating, with the Bandar-e Lengeh attack highlighting its counterterrorism deficiencies.