2005–06 Ahvaz bombings

The Ahvaz bombings was a series of bomb explosions, that took place mostly in Ahvaz, Iran in 2005 and 2006, and were blamed on Ahvaz separatist organizations of Arabs. The bombings were linked to the violent '15 April unrest' in Ahvaz, prior to the bombings. Some 28 people were killed and 225 wounded in Ahvaz bombings.

The region of Khuzestan continued suffering from periodical violent disruptions since the suppression of the Sheikh Khazal rebellion in 1925. In 2005, a wide scale unrest broke out in Ahvaz and the surrounding towns. 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. According to the LA Times, the provincial governor of Khuzestan disclosed that several of the victims were women and children. Iran's Interior Ministry claimed that the bombings were meant to strike fear into Iranians in order to stop them from voting, according to the New York Times. "These terrorists have been trained under the umbrella of the Americans in Iraq," The Iranian top national security official Ali Agha Mohammadi said. The The Arab People's Democratic Front, and The Armed Renaissance Group of Ahvaz all claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Two bomb blasts hit a shopping center, killing at least six people and injuring up to 100. The attacks, a few minutes apart, took place near an area attacked by several bombs in June. The bombs were planted in rubbish bins. The blasts occurred shortly before dusk as shoppers crowded to buy food for the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. According to Aljazeera, two Arab separatists accused of carrying out the attack, were executed by hanging.

At least nine people were killed and 48 injured in two blasts. One bomb had exploded in the Kianpars area, inside the Saman Bank, and had killed at least 9 people and wounded 45 others; the second explosion took place on Golestan Road next to the Natural Resources Department, a state environmental agency, causing injuries but no deaths. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been due to give a speech at a religious centre nearby, but the visit had been cancelled due to bad weather. Mr Ahmadinejad's media chief said he did not believe the bombs were linked to the planned visit, because there had been a series of similar blasts last year. "Our heroes in the military wing of The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz attacked and destroyed the dens of the occupying enemy" a statement posted on an Arab separatist organisation website said. However, Iranian Foreign Minister has blamed the UK of working together with the attackers responsible for the death of eight people in Ahvaz, according to BBC. Iranian authorities arrest at least 50 suspects for the bombings.

Two bombs exploded in the Iranian cities of Dezful and Abadan. In both cities, the devices were planted in the governor's offices. Three injuries were reported. According to ABC news, the twin bombs did affect the Iranian oil refinery in Abadan.

A bomb exploded hours after two men were hanged for a bomb blast. The percussion bomb shattered the windows of a building in the Kianpars area on Thursday evening, but no casualties were reported.

At least 19 Arab Iranian were executed since the 2005 Ahvaz unrest and the consequent bombings. In April 2011, another wave of protests erupted across the Khuzestan province, resulting in a dozen killed and scores injured and arrested.

The Iranian government has pointed the blame for the bomb attacks on a number of groups and foreign governments. The government initially blamed the Mujahideen e Khalq (MeK) and the separatist Ahwazi Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Front (ADPF). Both groups denied responsibility. At least three Arab groups claimed responsibility for the June bombings, including the Canada based Party of the Ahwaz Arab Renaissance Party (AARP) (aka Hizba al Nahdah al Arabi al Ahwazi) Sabah al Musawi of AARP which was created in Damascus by the Syrian Ba'ath Party also appeared to justify the killing of civilians, stating: "These people came from outside Ahvaz. These are settlers They came to Ahvaz and they must bear the consequences. The regime must bear its responsibilities towards the people it brought as settlers to Ahwaz." The AARP had claimed responsibility for an attack on the Abadan Ma'shuur pipeline in May 2005. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) spokesman Nasser Bani Assad dismissed the claims of responsibility by various foreign based separatist groups, alleging that they did not have the ability to carry out an attack and were seeking publicity and notoriety. In a statement on the BAFS website, Bani Assad said:
If you want to know who is behind the attacks, you only have to think about who would benefit the most and it is not the Arabs. Certainly, the more extreme hard line elements of the Iranian establishment will benefit greatly from the nationalist and religious fervour and anti Arab sentiments that will arise as a result of these bomb attacks. Presidential candidate Mostafa Moeen also suggested that those responsible for the Ahvaz attacks were also linked to similar attacks in Tehran and Zahedan. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Moeen suggested that the violence could have been aimed at encouraging people to vote for a hardline militarist candidate. When asked by the Guardian whether the attacks had the government's approval, he said: "I do not consider it improbable."