Separatism in Iran

Background

In December 1945 , after the end of World War II and the occupation of northern Iran, a separatist entity “ National Democratic Republic of South Azerbaijan ” arose in Iranian Azerbaijan ^[1] . After a one-year existence, the "National Democratic Republic of South Azerbaijan" was liquidated by the Tehran government. According to expert Yaroslav Butakov, Azerbaijani separatism in Iran has a history of about one hundred years ^[2] . Joaana de Groot notes that Azerbaijani separatism in Iran was a response to the actions of Reza Shah, who tried to impose an Iranian national ideology on the population ^[3]

Current situation

According to Jed Snyder, Azerbaijani President Elchibey played an active role in aggravating Azerbaijani separatism in Iran, who did everything possible to incite and provoke separatist sentiments ^[4] : separatist movements of Azerbaijanis in Georgia and Iran with the aim of creating a new state formation

Since March 2002, the leader of the South Azerbaijan separatists, former professor of Tabriz University Mahmudali Chekhrani, has been hiding in Baku. In the past, attempts by the Iranian leadership to extradite Chekhragani have failed ^[1] Separatist aspirations in Iranian Azerbaijan are openly supported by representatives of the intelligentsia of the Republic of Azerbaijan ^[5] . The leader of Iranian Azerbaijanis Chokhragani states the need for "federalization" of Iran:

Together with democratization, we are waiting for the restoration of the natural rights of Azerbaijanis, the determination of the natural borders of Azerbaijan and the determination of the capital of the south of Azerbaijan. We are for the federalization of Iran ^[6]

According to analyst Kirill Zubkov, the separatist movements of Iranian Azerbaijan can play an important role in the US’s anti-Iranian plans ^[7] . Against this background, the leader of Iranian Azerbaijanis Chokhragani openly admits that their ultimate goal is the autonomy of South Azerbaijan ^[6] . According to political scientist Zurab Todua, the ideology of “ One Great Azerbaijan ”, which could theoretically arise in the event of the collapse of Iran, is gradually growing in Azerbaijan. The tempting prospect of turning Azerbaijan into a “regional power" ^[8] captivates the supporters of this idea. Commenting on the approach and logic of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia and the media in the “issue of South Azerbaijan”, Todua notes: “ ... their logic is simple and straightforward:“ Nagorno-Karabakh is separatism ”, and“ South Azerbaijan is a national liberation struggle ” ^[9] .

In September 2012, Mahmudali Chekhragani stated that the ruling regime of Iran pursues a policy of ousting Azerbaijanis from the Lake Urmia region, as well as from the provinces of South and East Azerbaijan, and populates these places with other peoples. ^[ten]

The Arab population of Iran is concentrated mainly in the south-west of the country, in particular in Khuzestan , also called Arabistan.

Until 1925, this territory, called al-Ahwaz, was under a British protectorate. However, then the territories of the Arab tribes came under the jurisdiction of Iran.

Since 1946, the El Saadeh party has been fighting for the independence of Khuzestan from Iran. Besides it, there is also the Arabistan Liberation Front. During the Iran-Iraq war, local Arab separatists maintained ties with the regime of Saddam Hussein .

Since 1990, several parties have merged into the Al Ahwaz Liberation Organization (ALO). Its leader, Abdullah al-Mansouri, lives in Maastricht , Holland .

• Separatism
• Bozgurt
• Pan-Turkism

• The first battle of the cold war. At stake were South Azerbaijan and Iranian oil fields
• Sergey SMIRN, Turkish gambit? (inaccessible link)