Water Protests Continue in Iran’s Arab-Majority Khuzestan Province

Iranians and Arab-Iranians continued protesting the regime’s inaction over the quality of water in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province on Monday and the port city of Khorramshahr.

“Hundreds of protest gatherings are serious indications that there is something wrong in Khuzestan,” Iranian MP Ali Sari, from Ahvaz, reportedly told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA).

Protests have also taken place in Mahshar, Sarbandar, and Abadan over water issues and Iran’s stifled economy, including the plunge of Iran’s rial to the record low of 90,000 rials per U.S. dollar.

Iran revealed on Monday that 129 people were arrested during protests at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and outside the country’s Parliament over the past week.

However, Iranian media failed to report that “security forces reportedly kill[ed] four protesters Saturday night. … The city of Khorramshahr, in southwest Iran near the Iraqi border, has been without drinkable water for more than two weeks.”

The Iranian government on Sunday denied reports that one man was killed when security forces opened fire in Khorramshahr Saturday night. The regime did admit that 11 people have been injured, some seriously.

The Associated Press reported that Iranian security forces also shot at protesters in Khorramshahr early Sunday.

According to Radio Farda, “Water Authority officials in Khorramshahr and Abadan have told the press that that ‘the water crisis is over,’ but the statement is hard to verify as Iran does not allow international reporters to visit the area.”

The publication reported that social media reports suggest Iran is allegedly selling fresh water to foreign countries like Kuwait and Iraq. The Iranian government has reportedly denied these reports.

Khuzestan is a predominantly Arab city. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Arab population has been mistreated for decades, including being arrested and tortured by the Iranian regime for speaking Arabic, not being permitted to speak Arabic in schools, and being prohibited from wearing traditional Ahwazi attire in the region.

Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.