Alarm Bells Over the Execution of Dozens of Ahwazi Activists and the Regime’s Misguided Analysis of the Regional Situation
The widespread arrest of Ahwazi activists, which began in December 2024 (1403 in the Iranian calendar) by security agencies, particularly the IRGC Intelligence Organization, has led human rights organizations to report the detention of hundreds of individuals, interrogations, torture, and forced commitments from many more.
The intelligence and security apparatus of the clerical regime, fearing potential public protests in Ahwaz or the possible outbreak of war with the West and its subsequent consequences, has resorted to detaining activists and even ordinary Ahwazi citizens. Their goal is to intimidate society into submission, delay potential uprisings, or entirely cripple any form of resistance.
The IRGC Intelligence Organization is fabricating baseless accusations against Ahwazi activists, such as alleged connections with individuals or groups abroad, having family members active outside the country, producing content online, maintaining extensive social networks, or engaging in cultural and identity-related activities. These charges are being used to impose severe punishments, including imminent executions, life imprisonment, or long-term exile. Security forces linked to the IRGC have so far arrested around 400 Ahwazi activists under these pretexts and have forced commitments from about 1,000 others, strictly warning them against participating in future protests or even attending local social gatherings.
The repressive apparatus in Ahwaz is well aware that worsening economic conditions, political repression, and repeated crackdowns on social freedoms will only accelerate an uprising. Ahwazi activists have emerged from these crises and security pressures, striving to raise awareness among the people about the injustices they have endured over the years.
The clerical regime has systematically suppressed all organized political and social activities in Ahwaz. Despite its nationalist, fascist, and exclusionary policies, the government has failed to silence the demands of the Ahwazi people. All its cowardly threats and oppressive tactics have ultimately failed against the resilience of the Ahwazi people.
The Connection Between the Syrian Crisis and Ahwazi Arrests
The recent events in Syria are directly linked to the arrests of Ahwazi activists. The fall of Bashar al-Assad, the “Butcher of Damascus” and a key ally of Iran’s clerical regime in the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” has coincided with the crackdown in Ahwaz.
Previously, Mehdi Taeb, commander of the Ammar Strategic Base, stated: “Syria is our 35th province and a strategic one. If the enemy attacks us and attempts to take Syria or Khuzestan, our priority is to keep Syria because if we hold Syria, we can reclaim Khuzestan. But if we lose Syria, we won’t even be able to keep Tehran.”
The clerical regime applied this security doctrine during the Syrian revolution, engaging in brutal warfare, massacres, and torture of defenseless Syrians—unprecedented in the modern history of the Middle East and even globally.
The latest wave of arrests in Ahwaz is both a preemptive measure against potential protests and a reaction to the regime’s repeated foreign policy failures. Following Assad’s downfall, Iran’s ruling clerics perceive Ahwazi Arabs as the most immediate political threat to their power and are trying to neutralize this perceived risk through mass detentions—at least in the short term.
This paranoid and accusatory stance toward the Arab population is nothing new. During the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, Ahwaz suffered the most devastation, with the scars of that conflict still visible 36 years later. However, the regime’s official narrative branded Ahwazi Arabs as “Saddamists,” justifying discrimination, intensified oppression, security crackdowns, and the region’s underdevelopment under this false pretense.
A Failing Regime Resorting to Blackmail
With Iran’s regional influence crumbling and its proxy groups dismantled, the clerical regime is now using the arrests of Arab citizens as a bargaining chip against Gulf Arab states. The IRGC Intelligence Organization’s statement accusing detainees of espionage for an unnamed Gulf country is a clear indicator of this desperate strategy.
The clerical regime is under immense pressure, fearing its own downfall to the extent that it believes mass arrests can suppress the will of the people. However, they fail to realize that the regime is collapsing from within. Eventually, those responsible for massacres, brutality, and anti-people projects will face justice—not only from the people but also from history itself.
Long Live Ahwaz and the Ahwazi People
Forward to Freedom!
Hossein Bouazar originates from Ahwaz and stands as a fervent champion for human rights. Deeply connected to his Ahwazi Arab heritage, his literary works illuminate the adversities faced by this community. An outspoken critic of the Iranian regime, Hossein bravely highlights the grave human rights violations inflicted upon the Ahwazi Arabs. Through his compelling narratives, he seeks to amplify international consciousness of the challenges the Ahwazi Arabs encounter. His prose resonates as a defiant call for a world that upholds the inherent rights of every individual, irrespective of their ethnic roots or background.
Ahwazi Centre for Human Rights
January 29, 2025
