2005 Ahvaz unrest
2005 Ahvaz unrest or 15 April Ahvaz Protests were violent riots, initiated by Iranian Arabs in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. The unrest erupted on 15 April 2005, and lasted for 4 days. Initially, the Iranian Interior Ministry stated that only one person had been killed, however an official at a hospital in Ahvaz said that between 15 and 20 mortal casualties. Government officials blamed the unrest on Britain, whose troops based just across the border in southern Iraq. Following the unrest, several bombings were carried out in Ahvaz, killing 28 people. In 2006, Iran executed five Arab separatists, convicted of carrying out the bombings in 2005.
Arab Spring concurrent incidents
In Iranian Khuzestan, according to Saudi "Al Arabiya", Lebanese Yalibnan, the Guardian, there were large scale protests, declared as "Day of Rage" by Ahvaz Arab minority, in the city of Ahvaz – capital of the Khuzestan province, and the nearby town of Hamidieh. The protests marked six years since the violent 2005 Ahvaz unrest. The protesters were "demanding more rights and humanitarian benefits", as well as independence. The Revolutionary Guard Corps used tear gas to disperse the demonstrations, while using live bullets in some neighborhoods. Al-Arabiya reported that when the protests began, the city was blockaded by Iranian security forces, who "broke up demonstrations by force" and that "15 people from Ahwaz have been killed and dozens have been wounded". The Guardian puts the casualty rate at 12 dead Arabic-speaking Sunnis, based on Shirin Ebadi's letter to the UN.