1979 Khuzestan uprising The 1979 Khuzestan uprising was one of the nationwide uprisings in Iran , which erupted in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution . The unrest was fed by Arab demands for autonomy . The uprising was effectively quelled by Iranian security forces , resulting in more than a hundred people on both sides killed . Background . The Arabs of Iran are largely concentrated in the province of Khuzistan and number between half a million to 2 million . In Khuzestan , Arabs have formed the dominant ethnic group in Shadegan , Hoveyzeh and Susangerd , a majority in Mahshahr and Khorramshahr , a minority in Abadan and together with Persians , Arabs are one of the two main ethnic groups in Ahvaz . Inside Iran , the communal relationship between the majority Persians and ethnic minorities seems to have changed when the Islamic Republic was formed in 1979 . In part , this was a result of the Persian community ’ s identification with the Islamic State . History . Following the events of the Iranian revolution , Marxist guerrillas and federalist parties revolted in some regions comprising Khuzestan , Kurdistan and Gonbad - e Qabus , which resulted in fighting between various rebel groups and revolutionary forces . The largest rebellion by the Kurds unfolded in the West ( Iranian Kurdistan ) , though the Pasdaran were also confronted by Arabs , Turkomans and Baluchs . These revolts began in April 1979 and lasted between several months to over a year , depending on the region . In the early days of the communal conflict , the regime relied on volunteers from the Persian and Azeri communities to confront Kurdish , Baluchi , and Turkoman rebellions . In late April and into May 1979 , Arabs of Khuzestan began protests against discrimination , which prompted the regime to send Pasdaran units to assist already deployed navy and air force personnel ( in Khorramshahr ) in quelling the violence . According to EIR News Service issue from December 1979 , while " half of Iran " was in rebellion , the situation in Khuzestan province had already calmed down , even though Arab Sunnis and Bakhtiari tribes were reportedly at odds with Khomeini ' s regime . Casualties . More than a dozen Revolutionary Guards ( Pasdaran ) and 100 Arabs died in the battles . Aftermath . One of the consequences of the Arab uprising in Khuzestan was the Iranian Embassy siege , which took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980 , after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington , London . The gunmen took 26 people hostage — mostly embassy staff , but several visitors and a police officer , who had been guarding the embassy , were also held . The hostage - takers , members of a group campaigning for the autonomy of Iran ' s Khuzestan Province , demanded the release of Arab prisoners from jails in Khūzestān and their own safe passage out of the United Kingdom . The British government quickly resolved that safe passage would not be granted , and a siege ensued . During the 17 - minute raid , the SAS rescued all but one of the remaining hostages , and killed five of the six terrorists . The soldiers subsequently faced accusations that they unnecessarily killed two of the terrorists , but an inquest into the deaths eventually cleared the SAS of any wrongdoing . The remaining terrorist was prosecuted and served 27 years in British prisons . Later in 1980 , The Khuzestan province has become a central scene of the Iran - Iraq war , which prompted the dimming of internal conflict , despite the Iraqi hopes of inciting a wide - scale rebellion by Sunni Arabs of Khuzestan , which eventually turned vague . Annexation of the Khuzestan province in fact had been among the four main goals of the Iraqi invasion into Iran in 1980 . The tensions between the Iranian government and the Arab population of Khuzestan has sporadically exploded into violence over the next decades . In 2005 , violent riots broke out in Khuzestan province , concentrating in the Ahvaz area . As a result , several people died and wide scale arrests were performed by Iranian authorities . Following the events , a series of bombings were carried out in Khuzestan and in cities across Iran , claiming 28 casualties . The responsibility for the bombings were claimed by Ahvaz Arab separatists . External links . Abbas – Iran , Khuzestan Province . Arab rebellion and oil . 1979 . Magnum Photos .