Free Republic

Discovery of Ancient Stucco Decorations in Khuzestan The latest archaeological excavations in the historical city of Shooshtar led to the discovery of the first stucco decoration in the ancient times. Tehran, 18 December 2005 (CHN) -- Archaeological excavations resulted in the discovery of 2000-year-old stucco decoration on a wall belonging to the end of the Parthian and beginning of the Sassanid era in the historical city of Shooshtar in Khuzestan province. Archaeologists believe that the moldings should have belonged to the aristocrats of Dastva city. A part of a stucco decorated window belonging to 2000 years ago had also been...

The genteel two-storey summer retreat at the back of the Institute of Political and International Studies in one of North Tehran's most exclusive neighborhoods may seem like the perfect place of retirement for the Islamic Republic of Iran's more intellectual diplomats. But the senior Iranian diplomat and several-times former ambassador that I'm meeting there today still keeps his ears firmly to the ground. He worries over the discreet Israeli presence in North Iraq and Tel Aviv's alleged support for an independent Kurdistan that would grievously destabilize the region and separate Iraq into three ethnic entities. At the same time, he...

Major fires hit oil, gas pipelines in southwest Iran TEHRAN (AFP) - Two major fires in oil and gas pipelines in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan have left one guard dead and disrupted the supply process, state television said. The first fire broke out during welding on a crude oil pipeline and was immediately extinguished, the Iranian police information centre said. The cause of the second inferno was not yet clear. State television said firefighters had been battling the second blaze for more than 13 hours. That fire, which broke out shortly before midnight Friday, was sparked by an explosion...

Conspiracy-minded Iranians have had a field day arguing over who circulated a provocative letter which sparked three days of sectarian rioting earlier this month in Ahwaz, capital of the southern province of Khuzestan. Persian nationalists suspect Arab neighbours of stoking resentment in Ahwaz's big Arab minority. Others recall the area's former subjugation by outsiders; one blogger detected “the stench of British policies” in the unrest. In any event, Iran's governing reformists suspect that their conservative opponents will use the riots to add threat and fear to the presidential election in June. Do not expect Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the canny...

LONDON, April 25 (IranMania) - Iranian security forces have launched a fresh hunt for the alleged ringleaders of deadly violence involving ethnic Arabs from the southwestern province of Khuzestan, an official was quoted as saying Sunday. "The arrests of the main elements and others involved in the unrest has been underway since the morning," with police working on leads given by those already detained, Ahvaz prosecuter Iraj Amirkhani told ISNA. He said 205 people were still being held in connection with last week's clashes in Ahvaz, a city where Iran's three percent Arab minority are in the majority. According to...

London, Apr. 21 – At least 62 people have been killed and over 1,000 arrested in the week-long clashes between people and security forces in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province, according to the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran. Fierce fighting has brought the province to a complete stand-still since Friday, when State Security Forces (SSF) opened fire on a 3,000-strong anti-government demonstration in the city of Ahwaz. The residents who were mainly ethnic Arabs were complaining of government plans to redefine the ethnic make-up of the province. Ahwaz was placed under a de facto martial law...