Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard during a military drill in Sistan and Baluchestan, where forces face frequent attacks by militants. AFP
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard during a military drill in Sistan and Baluchestan, where forces face frequent attacks by militants. AFP
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard during a military drill in Sistan and Baluchestan, where forces face frequent attacks by militants. AFP
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard during a military drill in Sistan and Baluchestan, where forces face frequent attacks by militants. AFP

MENA

Iran

Militants attack police station in southern Iran

Two officers and four attackers killed in Sistan and Baluchestan's main city of Zahedan

The National

July 08, 2023

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Two police officers and four militants were killed when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a police station in Iran's south-east on Saturday, state media reported.

The attack took place in Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, broadcaster Irib said.

“Four unidentified armed individuals attacked and entered police station No 16 of Zahedan,” Irib said, quoting the province's deputy head of security, Alireza Marhamati.

The attackers used grenades to blast open the gates of the police station before opening fire, Mr Marhamati was quoted as saying.

All four attackers were killed, according to a statement from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard paramilitary.

Security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan, home to the Baloch minority who adhere to Sunni Islam rather than the Shiite branch predominant in Iran, are often the target of attacks by extremist groups.

The area has seen clashes involving drug smuggling gangs as well as rebels from the Baloch minority and Sunni extremist groups.

In May, five Iranian border guards were killed during clashes with an armed group in Saravan, in one of the deadliest attacks in Sistan-Baluchestan in months.

State media reported at the time that the attack was carried out by "a terrorist group that was seeking to infiltrate the country" but whose members "fled the scene after suffering injuries".

In the same month, the state Irna news agency quoted police as saying that Afghan Taliban forces had shot at a police station near the border.

Iranian police did not give details of casualties but local news agency Mehr reported one Iranian border guard had been killed.

The Taliban said one person was killed on each side during an exchange of fire, which took place amid heightened tensions between Iran and Afghanistan over sharing of water from the Helmand river that flows through the parched region.

The province was also the scene of mass protests over the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police commander late last year.

Scores of people were reported to have been killed when security forces opened fire on protesters on September 30, days after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd, in police custody in Tehran sparked nationwide ant-government protests.

More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

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MATCH INFO

Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: July 08, 2023, 11:23 AM
Middle EastIran