By: Rahim Hamid

Iranian regime’s political ideology:

Since the Islamic Republic regime rise to power, the Iranian regime’s political ideology relies on two ominous factors; Persian nationalism and Shiite sectarianism. These two factors  shape Iran domestic and foreign strategies; firstly, how to tackle its internal challenges from the mounting ethnic mobilization among five ethnic non-Persian nations in Iran’s geography which their growing struggle for regaining their national rights consider threat to the Iran’s integrity and Secondly, to export its sectarian Islamic revolution to the neighboring countries.

Persian nationalism in fact aims to build an absolute mono-ethnic country where the Persian language as official language dominated on country where the rest of languages and identities of non-Persian nations denied. The Iranian revolution was established its vicious system based on Persian nationalism inherited from the Pahlavi regime and obviously Iranian regime is akin to wolf in sheep’s clothing embellished with Safavid Shiite sectarianism that is considered significant factor in building Iran foreign policy mainly for radiating serious repercussions outwards as external expansionist ambitions to achieve more influence politically and economically in the Arab world countries particularly Arab Gulf countries where Iraq Shia government is already allied with Iran, and in Arabic Gulf, Bahrain has sizeable Shia majority and Yemen, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (in its oil-rich eastern province) in which could be a base for Iran regime  in developing its expansionist agenda across these Arab countries by deploying those dormant elements whom their brains have been washed by the Iran’s Shiite sectarian agenda.

Domestic oppressive policies:

The Iranian Pahlavi regime occupied Ahwaz with blood on its hands from lands forcibly confiscated from its indigenous Arab inhabitants who had lived on it for thousands of years. Since 1925 till today, there was not much difference between Pahlavi and Islamic regime toward the Ahwazi Arab people where both systems waged their ethnic cleansing war against Ahwazi Arab without mercy to eradicate them from their homeland.

The Islamic regime with its Islamo-nationalism policies as a start robbed the right to self-determination of non-Persian nations like Ahwazi Arab people by oppression and ongoing series of mass executions perpetrated against those who are opposed with the Rule of the Jurisprudent (Velayat-e faqih) on the basic of some vague worded-accusations such as corruption on the earth, blasphemy and waging war against God. Since the emergence of Islamic regime all people in Iran particularly non-Persian people have been left to live in harsh economic tragedy and harvest many types of oppression, injustice and deprived of the most basic necessities of precious life. All grievances of non-Persian nations stem from political, cultural and economic marginalization caused by the central government in Iran. Undoubtedly it shows that the Iran Islamic regime shares the same oppressive policies with the previous chauvinist system policies of Pahlavi regime which was based on Persian centrism.

The systematic policy of ethnic cleansing against Ahwazi Arabs originates mainly from Iranian regime’s consensus and racist’s unanimous ideology for its colonial expansionist ambitions to establish an absolute  mono-ethnic country(Persia empire) therefore all  the sizeable  non-Persian occupied territories including Ahwaz, Kurdistan, South Azerbaijan, Baluchistan and Turkmen would become one for ethnic Persian alone. In fact, the Iranian regimes harbors hatred, rooted animosity and an insane hostile doctrine against Arab people for years that provided the legitimization for discriminatory policies against Arabs. For this reason Ahwazi Arab people are faced double repression and prosecution on the hands of Persian state that is attempting to wipe out them from their homeland permanently. Thus, this continued reactionary policy of Iranian regime left no space for Arabic culture and Arabic heritage of Ahwazi people in their homeland. It should not be surprising to say that the oppression and injustice inflicted on Ahwazi Arabs by the Iranian occupiers cannot be found anywhere. As evidence I just concisely focus on execution sentence that is the Iran’s last resort to liquidate Ahwazi political prisoners.

When the Iranian regime perceived that its agenda has been failed to quell the peaceful resistance of Ahwazi people, the Iranian authorities by the help of their deeply flawed criminal justice system began to prioritize the death penalty against Ahwazi political prisoners, amid warnings from the human rights organizations and the amnesty international organization. Since the Ahwaz popular uprising in 2005, the death sentences and executions are being imposed and carried out on Ahwazi prisoners extensively, after procedures that violate human rights standards. In the previous years the death sentences are being flung out after grossly unfair trials relying on Confessions obtained under tortures. Many trail of those Ahwazi victims who sentenced to death failed to meet the international standards for fair trails, including by using “confessions” obtained under tortures or other ill-treatment as evidence against the defendants.

Some Iranian television stations like Press TV continue to broadcast self-incriminating testimonies of Ahwazian detainees even before the opening of a trail, undermining the fundamental rights of defendants to be considered innocent until proven guilty. The last shameful execution was committed against two Arab political prisoners by the name of Hashem Shabbani and Hadi Rashdi who were both high school teachers.

To be noted that the Iranian judicial authorities have been ratifying the death penalty as last step on innocent Ahwazi people after accusing the Ahwazi prisoners of terrorism –related offences. While the only guilt of these people is that they are struggling to preserve their Arabic identity against Iran ethnic purification agenda adopted systematically against the Ahwazi people who are living under the poverty-line and amid the abject misery, the daily crackdown, racial bias and ongoing settlement projects from Iran occupier authorities.

The Iranian occupiers proudly reveal the statistics facts of object poverty, hovering unemployment, pervasive addiction to drugs among Ahwazi, absolute illiteracy among women and men. However, they are definitely responsible for all these systematic devastating miseries and inhuman crimes against Ahwazi Arab who are living under the richest region in Middle East while they are even mostly deprived of basic necessities of life and remained isolated just because they are Arab. Under these systematic anti-Arab policies, Ahwazian then and today have almost no rights including being able to live in peace and prosperity on their own land independently.

Right after Ahwaz military occupation, Ahwazi people deemed as second class and unwanted Arab citizens whom subjected to daily institutionalized and codified racism and persecution. However, growing awareness between Ahwazi youth regarding their legitimate rights and their constant struggle for their national rights has caused Iran not to be able to keep the lid of oppression and agony of Ahwaz for long time.

Conclusion:

The Iran regime continues in conducting its sever discriminatory practices against people in Ahwaz to weaken the popular will of Ahwazi people by economic strangulation, preventing from employment, deprivation of benefiting from the their local natural resources, the collective punishment for any reason, executions, land confiscation, arrest without cause, and loss of their homes by bulldozing, and routine subjection to rape and torture while in custody.

Since the military occupation of Ahwaz many of Ahwazis including men and women fought and sacrificed themselves for liberation of Ahwaz and had never given up of their constant struggle. For years, the lack of serious reaction of Arab countries particularly Arab Gulf neighboring countries and the international community concerning the state of human rightsparticularly in Ahwaz region which is considered one of the usurped Arabic territories, has given Iranian regime and its clique a right of life and death over the entire occupied nationsincluding Ahwaz, South  Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Baluchistan and Turkmen in which their sufferings remained unresolved and unaddressed by the international community so far.