Bombs Kill Six in Southwestern Iran ~ The president was to be ...... in the city on Tuesday

Las Vegas Sun ^ | January 24, 2006 at 10:56:24 PST | ALI AKBAR DAREINI ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -

Two bombs exploded in a bank and outside a government building Tuesday, killing six people and injuring 46 in a southwestern city with a history of violence involving members of Iran's Arab minority, the official news agency reported.

The president had been expected to meet his Cabinet in the city on Tuesday but canceled the visit.

Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi said the attacks in Ahvaz, the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province which borders Iraq, were foreign-inspired and related to last year's bombings in the same city.

Ahvaz was the scene of bombings in June and October that the government blamed on Iranian Arab extremists who were allegedly trained abroad and maintained ties to foreign governments, including Britain. The October bombings killed six people and the June attacks killed at least eight. Britain has denied any connection.

"Today's explosions are a continuation of the same indiscriminate attacks directed from outside the country," the Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Pourmohammadi as saying.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his entire Cabinet had been expected to meet Tuesday in Ahvaz as part of a series of visits to provincial capitals to address key local issues. Ahmadinejad canceled the visit, citing a forecast calling for heavy rain, IRNA reported.

The bombs targeted a bank and a state environmental agency building in the city, IRNA said.

A deputy provincial governor of Ahvaz, Mohsen Farrokhinejad, said Tuesday's blasts killed six people and wounded 46, IRNA reported.

Nezam Molla Hoveizeh, a Khuzestan lawmaker, alleged Tuesday's explosions were the work of Iranian Arab separatists who have offices in London and are supported by Britain.

"The bombers are directed by the British. Britain is the main culprit behind the blasts. The British government offers financial and material support to these terrorists," he told The Associated Press.

Iran has repeatedly accused Britain of provoking unrest in Khuzestan, which borders that part of Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based as part of the U.S.-led military coalition.

Tensions between the two countries have also flared recently over Britain's opposition to Iran's resumption of nuclear activities. The United States suspects Iran has ambitions of producing nuclear weapons and Britain supports moves to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions. Iran says its nuclear program is for producing energy.

Britain has also accused Tehran of allowing Iraqi insurgents to receive explosives technology that has been used to attack British soldiers. Iran denies those allegations.

Arabs make up less than 3 percent of Iran's population, and most live in Khuzestan.

In April, residents of Ahvaz rioted for two days after Arab separatists circulated reports the government planned to decrease the proportion of Arabs in the province. The government denied the claim.

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[Fred Nerks]

City in Iran with 330,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Situated in the south-western corner of Iran, on the island of Abadan, that lies in the river of Shatt El Arab. The economic base of the city is petroleum refining and shipping. Oil is transported from the Iranian oil fields in the north, through pipelines, to Abadan. HISTORY 1847: The Agreement of Ezerum transfers Abadan from the Ottomans to Persia. 1908: Oil is discovered near Abadan. 1913: Abadan becomes the centre of oil refining for Persia. 1980-88: Much of the Iran-Iraq War is staged near Abadan, principally because the city's oil resources represent great wealth.

[Fred Nerks]

Shatt El Arab is the continuation of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, which joins at Qurna, but has other tributary rivers further downstream, like the important Iranian Karun. The landscape to the south of the Shatt El Arab is marshy, and has hosted the development of a distinct Arab culture, where isolation and the natural conditions have been the basic factors.

The water of Shatt El Arab carries so large amounts of silt that the river has to be frequently dredged to remain navigable. This problem has been reduced with the barrage of Samarra.

Among the most important economical activities along the Shatt El Arab are shipping of oil from Iraq and Iran, and large-scale date production. The two major cities of the river are Abadan in Iran and Basra in Iraq.

[Fred Nerks]

[Marine_Uncle]

These clowns feel they can sponsor any type terrorism when it suits their filthy brains. But oh no, nobody else has the right to sponsor terrorist acts against them. Like a bunch of very spoiled rotten, evil children (those that have little concept between right and wrong). Filth bags. Or is it scum bags? Perhaps dirty rotten filthy scum bags.

[M. Espinola]

You have presented an excellent well documented report.

[M. Espinola]

The Iranian Mullahs can't face the facts that millions in Iran hate them and desire them to evaporate. So what do they do, blame the British.

London shall be with US, with Israel, when the final countdown does get underway, and maybe Tehran is ticked off since they realize, even in their twisted Mahdi worshiping minds, that their end is drawing near.

The OPEC state bank-rollers of global Islamic terrorism have only been capable of financing well healed acts of terror due to the fact jihad's state sponsors sit on vast seas of petroleum.

After Iran's despots are overthrown that technically leaves just one other trillion dollar promoter of jihadist madness, Saudi Arabia's Wahhabist clan. One step at a time.

We need to always be two steps ahead of the enemy.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It's hard work to drain a swamp so you can clean out the alligators....Iraq was simply a part of the operation....Iran is part of the swamp as is Saudi Arabia.

[NRA2BFree]

"The bombers are directed by the British. Britain is the main culprit behind the blasts. The British government offers financial and material support to these terrorists," he told The Associated Press.

He's scared, and he'd like to believe that it was the Brits or the US who are behind the recent attacks. I'm guessing his rhetoric has upset those in Iran who don't want the Brits, Israel or the US attacking them. I bet it's home grown for those reasons.

[Marine_Uncle]

"It's hard work to drain a swamp so you can clean out the alligators....Iraq was simply a part of the operation....Iran is part of the swamp as is Saudi Arabia."
The swamp is huge, deep, very slimy, fall of holes. And like you say, filled to the brim with frigen alligators. But I continue to see the wisdom behind going into Iraq. GWB really had no options, assuming one really is interested in bringing change to the ME/FE, and killing as many goons possible as they come to the battle ground. One can only imagine how many of these turd heads if they stayed in the native lands would be setting up groups to bring more terror to the US and other western nations.
Dispite all the bad news, we continue to see real signs of change in the past year in various ME countries. Just hearing Afghanistan's president Kazide say he would be very unhappy if the US where to pull out of his country as more NATO troops are brought in tells me, he and his cabinet really want us to stay. And surely so do many Iraqi political hacks that are not super anti-US. So perhaps the swamp shall be slowly drained in an effective matter.
Eyeballs are shot, time to hit the sack. Have a great day.

[M. Espinola]

You are most correct, that swamp does indeed extend across many thousands of miles. Even alligators must have a continuous source of food. The jihadic food supply has and is the OPEC bank coffers of Iran (Shi'ite) and Arabia's (Wahhabists) with various 'extra' sources of funding, as in illegal narcotics profits. But Islam is a "religion of peace" - they keep telling us.

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

One thing I haven't been able to figure out..unless like most places they say a place is slightly somewhere different on a map to make it harder for foreign countries to attack with precision..is that when I was in Abandan, it was on the Gulf. I stood on the wharf and looked into the Gulf and there was no land to be seen on the other side.

It wasn't a small river like the Shatt El Arab River.

There were huge oil tankers lined up and I have a picture somewhere that I took of one of the oil tankers sitting there.

Or maybe they had to move Abandan a bit after Iraq destroyed it and Ahwaz? I wonder how long the poison gas and chemical weapons would have stayed on items in the area?

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

We crossed the Karun River all the time in Ahwaz and it certainly was that wide.

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

sheeesh, "it certainly WASN'T that wide". My brain says one thing and my fingers type out something else.

[Fred Nerks]

Check it out on Google Earth.

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

I know and I've seen newer maps printed where Abadan is shown north of the Gulf but older maps that I saw at the time plus when I was there Abandan was actually on the Gulf.

[Walkingfeather]

Missed him by that much....

[Fred Nerks]

Maybe you were in Kuwait looking out into the Gulf. Check it out on Google Earth - it hasn't been moved IT'S TOO DARNED HUGE!

(And where the river runs into the Gulf there's nothing but MUD!)

[Freedom Dignity n Honor]

No. It was Abadan. I really think they are marking it like it's in a different place on the maps due to security concerns. I think like how it is here in the States and most places the maps are slightly off on purpose.

I called my mom who was in Iran with me and she remembers it like I do.

I'm not saying that you are wrong or anything like that.

I've noticed this discrepancy for a few years now and only now decided to ponder the why's of it.