Gunmen stormed a courthouse complex in Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding about 22, state media reported. Security forces said they shot dead three of the assailants after the attackers hurled grenades and opened fire inside the judiciary headquarters. The Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility, saying it targeted judges and court staff it accuses of ordering harsh sentences against local Baluch citizens. Provincial judiciary chief Ali Mohavedi Rad said the dead include a toddler, a 60-year-old woman and several members of the security forces. Officials added that the attackers wore explosive vests, though it was unclear whether any detonated. The assault is the latest in a series of violent incidents in Sistan-Baluchestan, a largely Sunni region bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan where militant groups and drug traffickers have long clashed with Iranian security forces. Saturday’s attack underscores ongoing tensions in the impoverished province, where residents say they face economic marginalisation and political exclusion.