Iranian Authorities Crack Down on Street Vendors in Ahwaz
Ahwaz – March 6, 2025
In yet another act of repression against the Ahwazi Arab people, Iranian authorities launched a violent crackdown on street vendors in Ahwaz on Thursday, 6th March 2025. This systematic targeting of impoverished Ahwazi vendors has sparked outrage, as thousands of families depend on street vending for their survival amid rising poverty and unemployment in the region.
Street Vendors: Victims of Economic Hardship and regime Repression
Due to widespread unemployment and economic deprivation, many Ahwazi youths—including university graduates—have turned to street vending as a means to support themselves and their families. However, instead of receiving support, they face harassment, violent crackdowns, and even armed assaults by municipal authorities and security forces.
Eyewitnesses reported that security forces and municipal officers used brute force against vendors, seizing their goods, destroying stalls, and even using weapons to intimidate them. Such violent measures go beyond any legal or moral justification, further worsening the already dire humanitarian situation in Ahwaz.
Rising Poverty and Unemployment in Ahwaz
Ahwaz remains one of the poorest regions in Iran, despite being rich in oil and gas resources. According to official Iranian statistics, the unemployment rate in Ahwaz exceeds 50%, making it one of the worst-hit areas in the country. Moreover, millions of Ahwazis live below the poverty line, forcing many to take on informal and precarious jobs, such as street vending, to survive.
It is estimated that over 2,000 families in the city of Ahwaz rely on street vending as their primary source of income. Yet, rather than providing economic solutions or job opportunities, the Iranian regime continues to oppress and marginalize the Ahwazi Arab people.
Ahwaz: The Economic Heart of Iran, Yet Its People Live in Poverty
Despite the Ahwaz region supplying over 80% of Iran’s oil and gas revenues, the Ahwazi Arab people remain among the poorest in the country. Billions of dollars in revenue from petroleum and natural gas are extracted from Ahwaz each year, yet the indigenous population is systematically deprived of its share. The Iranian regime diverts these resources to fund development projects in Persian-majority regions, and to support terrorist groups in neighbouring countries, leaving Ahwaz in a state of neglect, with crumbling infrastructure, inadequate public services, and mass unemployment.
Discriminatory Policies Against Ahwazi Arabs
The crackdown on street vendors is part of a broader pattern of discriminatory policies implemented by non-Ahwazi officials who control local governance in Ahwaz. Like other high-ranking managerial positions, the head of Ahwaz Municipality is not an Ahwazi Arab, and under his administration, harsh and exclusionary policies continue to be enforced against the local Arab population.
Ahwazi activists and human rights organizations have condemned these attacks and called on the international community, human rights organizations, and the UN to address the systematic repression faced by the Ahwazi people. They emphasize that the Iranian authorities must be held accountable for their violent and discriminatory practices, which further deepen the suffering of an already oppressed population.
Call for Action
Ahwazi rights groups urge international human rights organizations, UN bodies, and humanitarian agencies to:
- Pressure Iran to stop its repressive actions against Ahwazi street vendors.
- Hold Iranian authorities accountable for their economic marginalization and discriminatory policies.
- Demand job creation programs and economic support for Ahwazi Arabs.
The situation in Ahwaz remains critical, and without urgent intervention, thousands of Ahwazi families will continue to suffer under these brutal policies. The international community must take a stand against these blatant human rights violations and support the rights and dignity of the Ahwazi Arab people.
It is worth recalling that 10 years ago, on 14 March 2015, the Ahwazi people witnessed a shocking act of self-immolation that became a defining moment in their struggle against systematic oppression. That day, Iranian authorities in the city of Mohammarah demolished the kiosk of Younes Asakreh, a young Ahwazi street vendor who relied on his small business to support his family. In a desperate act of protest against the injustice and economic marginalization inflicted upon him and his people, Asakreh set himself on fire in public view, outside the municipal office of Mohammarah.
Severely burned across his body, he battled for his life for ten agonizing days before succumbing to his injuries. His tragic death ignited mass protests across Ahwaz, where thousands of people took to the streets to denounce the Iranian regime’s relentless discrimination and economic exclusion of the Ahwazi Arab population.
The authorities responded with their usual iron-fisted repression. According to a report by Ban Ki-moon, the then UN Secretary-General, Iranian security forces arrested over 1,000 people during Asakreh’s funeral procession in an attempt to crush dissent and silence the growing outrage.
A decade later, Younes Asakreh remains a powerful symbol of defiance against state oppression, his sacrifice a testament to the suffering and resilience of the Ahwazi people. His story continues to echo as a reminder of the deep-rooted injustice, economic deprivation, and political repression faced by Ahwazis under Iranian rule.
Prepared by: the Ahwazi Source Organisation