For general information on Arabs in Iran, please consult the attached documents.

The following information was provided during a 29 January 1997 telephone interview with a specialist on Iran in England.

The source stated that the Arab minority remained loyal to the Iranian state during the Iran-Iraq war because most of them are Shi'a, especially in the Khuzestan province. In general, the Arabs of Iran have little sympathy for the Iraqi regime during the war with Iran. The situation has not changed since the end of the war because the Iraqi regime has mistreated Iraq's Shi'a Arabs.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Specialist on Iran, England. 29 January 1997. Telephone interview.

Attachments

Iran: A Country Study. 1987. Edited by Helen Chapin Metz. Washington, DC: Secretary of the Army, pp. 94-96.

Mideast Mirror [London]. 10 June 1993. Vol. 7, No. 110. "Proxy War Between Iraq and Iran." (NEXIS)

United Press International (UPI). 25 August 1994. BC Cycle. "U.N. Group Condemns Iranian Terrorism." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Two oral sources did not have information on this subject.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Minority Rights Group International. Various dates. London: Minority Rights Group International.

World Directory of Minorities. 1990. London: Minority Rights Groups International.

The Minority Rights Group Reports. Various dates. London: La force des faibles. 1987. Paris: Larousse.

World Minorities in the Eighties. 1980. London: Quartermaine House.

Arabies [Paris]. Bi-monthly.

The Middle East [London]. Monthly.

Middle East International [London/New York]. Bi-monthly.

Monde arabe Maghreb-Machrek [Paris]. Quarterly.

Middle East Report [Washington]. Bi-monthly.

News From Middle East Watch [New York]. monthly.

The Jerusalem Report [Jerusalem]. 1995-1997.

The Lebanon Report [Beirut]. 1995-1996.