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On October 19, 2022, Adl Network, the official media outlet of Jaish Al-Adl ("Army of Justice"), a Sunni Salafi jihadi group that operates mainly in southeastern Iran, where there is a substantial concentration of Sunni Baluchis and a porous border with Pakistan, released a video expressing support for the ongoing protests in Iran against the Shi'ite regime and calling for armed resistance.[1]
The ten-minute video featured footage showing six units parading on foot and in vehicles in a group camp located in a desert area. It also showed a group leader, his face digitally blurred, delivering a speech at a podium.
The release highlighted footage of Iranian protesters who were killed and wounded in the ongoing demonstrations, which erupted on September 16 following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been apprehended in Tehran and taken to a "re-education center" for not wearing her hijab properly.
"It Is Time For Armed Resistance"
Along with the video, Al-Adl Network Telegram channel posted a statement in Farsi lauding the ongoing protests and describing them as a "revolution for restoring the Iranian people's dignity."
It further condemned the Shi'ite government doctrine of velayat-e faqih[2] (Guardianship of the Islamic jurist), saying the regime fabricated claims that Jaish Al-Adl was involved in killing protesters in Zehedan, the capital of the country's Sistan and Baluchistan Province.[3]
"When the nation's rightful protest is countered with fireballs, and in accordance with the holy laws of Islam [...] taking up arms for self-defense is a legitimate and honorable right," said the statement.
Demonstrating solidarity with the anti-government protesters, the statement emphasized that Jaish Al-Adl is a movement that rose from the heart of society, and is focused on Allah-given human rights.
It also stressed that the group seeks to extend its support to the oppressed and defenseless rebels in Iran, especially the "committed worshipers," and to "fulfill the general desire of the Iranian people, which is the overthrow of the velayat [-e faqih]."
Vowing to take action against the regime in the near future, the statement concluded by highlighting that the video release shows part of the group's training, which involved "six units: five combat units and [one] infinitary unit in the northern regional camp."
[1] Telegram, October 19, 2022.
[2] Iran's governing system is based on this religious and political Islamic Shi'ite doctrine and has been since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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