13 Years of Bombings and Armed Conflicts in Khuzestan

Hur al-Tustari, spokesperson for the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz', identified the 'National Resistance of Ahwaz' as responsible for operations in the city of Ahwaz, a group he described as 'broader and including several factions'. He did not mention other members of this entity, and only the name 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz' is highlighted. This group has been conducting armed activities in Khuzestan province since 2005. Ahmad Mola Abunahad, known as Ahmad Nissi, who is referred to as the founder of this group, was killed on November 8, 2017, in front of his residence in The Hague. The 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz' has previously stated that it fights for the 'independence of Khuzestan province and its separation from Iran'. In recent years, this group has held meetings in several Arab countries, including Tunisia and Kuwait. In the meeting in Tunisia, topics such as 'creating suitable grounds for declaring an Ahwazi government in exile', 'raising the right to self-determination within the framework of international laws', 'the necessity of including the Ahwaz issue in textbooks in Arab countries', and 'accepting representatives from Ahwaz in the Arab League and other Arab institutions' were discussed. The group also held a meeting in Kuwait, which prompted the Iranian Foreign Ministry to summon the Kuwaiti chargé d'affaires in protest. The year 2005 marked the peak of military activities for the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz', with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence reporting 13 bombings at government locations, public places, and oil facilities that year. Prior to these bombings, a letter attributed to Mohammad Ali Abtahi, head of the Iranian President's office, indicated a government plan to migrate groups of people from other provinces to Khuzestan, disrupting the 'demographic structure' of the province, leading to widespread protests that reportedly resulted in several deaths. The Iranian presidential office denied the letter, but some analysts stated that this denial came too late. On June 12, 2005, just days before the presidential elections, four explosions occurred in front of the governor's office, the Planning and Budget Organization, and the Housing and Urban Development Organization, near the home of the head of the state broadcasting organization, killing about eight people. These bombings continued, with the Ministry of Intelligence counting 13 bombings that year, including the bombing of Salman Farsi Street in downtown, Saman Bank in Ahwaz, the General Directorate of Natural Resources, and the governor's offices in Abadan and Dezful, as well as several oil and gas wells and pipelines in Khuzestan province. Following these incidents, Iranian officials reported several executions of individuals identified as responsible for these actions. Attacks on two oil pipelines around the city of Omidiyeh and the port of Daylam, an armed attack on a police station located in 'Gamboo' Park on April 2, 2015, and an attack on the governor's office in Susangerd are among the recent actions of the 'Arab Liberation Movement of Ahwaz'. The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence also reported in 2012 the arrest of several members of this group, stating that it had carried out nine bombings at energy facilities in Khuzestan province. Bombings of the Shavour oil pipeline near Shush in August 2011, the bombing of the oil pipeline passing near the city of Shavour in May 2012, the bombing of a gas pipeline between Shush and Dezful in July 2012, the bombing of the gas pipeline from Ahwaz to northern Khuzestan in August 2012, and the bombing of the gas pipeline along the Haft Tappeh Shush route are among these incidents. Armed group activities in Khuzestan province, which claim to support the rights of the Arab people and most of whom advocate for the province's separation from Iran, began in the early years following the 1979 revolution in Iran. During the Iran-Iraq war, the 'Arab Front for the Liberation of Ahwaz' operated against the government like groups such as the People's Mujahedin Organization. Even before the 1979 revolution, there had always been conflicts between some Arab groups and the government, the most famous of which was Sheikh Khazal, who claimed governance over areas where oil had been discovered. In this context, the Khuzestan governor's office reported 25 casualties from the attack on the Ahwaz parade. An Iranian Arab political activist was 'shot dead' in The Hague, Netherlands. An Arab separatist group claimed responsibility for the explosion of two oil pipelines in Khuzestan; Iran denied this. The suspects in the Hamidiyeh police station attack faced operations leading to death sentences. Three police officers died in Khuzestan following attacks by 'unknown individuals'. Iranian television reported the arrest of 'eight terrorists' in Ahwaz. The changing landscape of 'proxy wars'; conflict against the people in the streets of Iran. The Iranian crisis; responsibility of the opposition and the potential radicalization of Iranian society. The last Mossad representative in Tehran passed away amid the Iranian crisis.