Small Bomb Shakes Iranian Oil City

Reuters:

A percussion bomb exploded in the restive southwestern Iranian oil city of Ahvaz on Sunday, shattering windows but causing no injuries, the official IRNA news agency reported. IRNA quoted an unnamed security official as saying the bomb exploded at 9:45 pm (6:15 p.m. British time). No other details were immediately available.

A similar device blew up in Ahvaz, capital of the predominantly Arab province of Khuzestan, on Jan 29.

Khuzestan has simmered with ethnic unrest since April, when five people died in protests ignited by rumours the government was considering settling non-Arabs in southwest Iran to dilute Arab influence there. READ MORE

Seven people were killed in bombings in June and six died in a blast in October. Some minor oil facilities were bombed in September. Eight people were killed last month when bombs ripped through a bank and government building.

About three percent of Iran's 69 million people are Arabs. Authorities are sensitive about protests and discontent in the southwestern Arab territories, home to Iran's biggest oil fields.

A preliminary United Nations report has pointed to discrimination against Arabs with regard to basic amenities, resources and legal rights.

Iran accuses Britain of stirring unrest in Khuzestan, a charge London denies.