WikiLeaks: Iran losing effective control.

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1. Guest3068
   

   Iran faces increased ethnic unrest in one of its southeastern provinces, mirroring similar trouble in neighboring Pakistan, U.S. diplomats in Azerbaijan reported in a cable disclosed by the website WikiLeaks this week. A rail line connecting Iran and Pakistan "has recently been repeatedly subject to rocket attacks and other disruption" by tribes in Sistan-Balochistan province, a largely Sunni Muslim province of the majority-Shiite Islamic republic, according to a June 2009 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Baku. In addition, one source told U.S. diplomats, Tehran was "rife with rumors" that police were leaving their posts empty at night "due to the increased danger of attack." The cable stated that several Iranian contacts -- "including apolitical businessmen" -- reported that a pair of bombings in the spring of 2009 "reflect a surge in Balochi violence in the border area and inside Pakistan that has been building steadily over several years." It added, "According to one source, the Iranian security forces may be losing effective control over growing areas in the countryside." The document is among the vast cache of U.S. State Department papers that WikiLeaks, a website known for leaking official secrets, began releasing Sunday to widespread condemnation from the United States and its allies.

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