These tribes are scattered along the Persian Gulf coast and the hot plain of Khuzestan. Their most important clans are Ka’ab, Tamim and Khamis. A small population of Arab tribes, descendants of early emigrants, lives in eastern Khorasan near Bojnurd and in some places in Fars
Iranian Arabs mostly live in Provinces such as Khuzestan and Hormozgan. Arabs of Khuzestan Province, who live in South-west side of Zagros Mountains, along with the bank of the Shatt-al-Arab (Arvand Rood) .Over 3.5 million indigenous Arab people, live in the territory known as al-Ahwaz or Khuzestan and neighbouring provinces
For some 500 years, the region was called Arabistan of Iran by Persian rulers. The central government changed the territory’s name to Khuzestan in 1936. Al-Ahwaz or Khuzestan also borders Iraq, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf
Since 1925, indigenous Ahwazis have been brutalized and deliberately kept backward by the successive regimes of Iran. While their land accounts about 80% of Iranian oil production, they benefit no revenue in return, with half of Ahwazi people in absolute poverty and 80% of Ahwazi children suffering from malnutrition
The Ahwazis have been subjected to the eradication of their national identity, culture, and customs; and are faced with forced assimilation, and imposition of Persian language and culture. Ahwazis like other minorities cannot wear their national and ethnic dresses and costumes in official centres. Therefore, a dominant Persian minority influences in every respect of life, political, social, cultural and economical of not only the Ahwazis but all minority of Iran
It is estimated that approximately 5% of Iran’s population which means 3.5 million, is Arabic-speakers, of whom the majority live in Khuzestan Province (Ahwaz region) and neighboring provinces. Of whom about 250.000 live in Hormozgan Province and Persian Gulf’s bank and islands
Khuzestan (former Iranian Arabistan)
They speak Arabic as their mother tongue, and Farsi as state official language. The variety of Arabic spoken in the province is Ahwazi Arabic, which is a Mesopotamian dialect shared by Arabs across the border in Iraq
The cities with majority Arabs in Khuzestan include: Abadan, Omidia, Ahwaz, Bandar-Mahshahr, Khoramshahr, Dasht-Azadegan, Shadigan and Susa. About 60% of Khuzestan province is Arabic speakers, the total population of the Province is about 4.5 million. Total population of Arabs in Khuzestan Province estimates about 2.8 million. Ahwazi Arab is majority Shi’a Moslem with a Sunni minority
Hormozgan
In Hormozgan Province the Arab population speaks various local dialects of Persian Gulf’s Arabic. The Arabs of the Province are estimated to be about 10 % of the total population of Hormozgan (total population of Hormozgan is about 1.5 million).
