History of Khuzestan (part 2)
Domination of Khuzestan was also Saddam Hussein's primary strategic objective that launched the Iran-Iraq war. Being on the border with Iraq, Khuzestan suffered the heaviest damage of all Iranian provinces during the 8 years of imposed war, which forced thousands of Iranians to flee the province.
What used to be Iran's largest refinery at Abadan was totally destroyed by Iraqi shells. Many of the famous Nakhlestans (Date palm tree grove) were annihilated, cities were destroyed, historical sites were demolished, and half the province went under the boots of Saddam's invading army.
However, by 1982, Iranian forces managed to push Saddam's forces back into Iraq. The battle of "the Liberation of Khorramshahr'(one of Khuzestan's largest cities and the most important Iranian port prior to the war) was a turning point in the war and of course one the most heroic battles ever taken place in defending the country, and is officially celebrated every year in Iran. The city of Khorramshahr was completely decimated as a result of Saddam's barbaric invasion.
The Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 in London was a terrorist siege and initiated by Arab separatists, backed by Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. Arab separatists supported Saddam's invading army and attacking the both Persian and Iranian-Arab townships, soldiers and civilians. During eight years of war the majority of the Khuzestani Arab population was loyal to Iran and fought alongside fellow countrymen against Saddam. This was one of biggest miscalculations of Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein, as they expected that all Khuzestani Arabs will welcome and support the invading Iraqi army. But at later months of war when they didn't receive support as it was expected, they went on rampage and started to rape, torture and kill the Iranian-Arab children, women and men; and burn their villages and towns to ashes.
Those Iranian-Arabs did one thing to suffer like that in the hands of Iraqi army and their separatist supporters, and that was 'not supporting the separatist movement'.
After the withdrawal of Iraqi forces towards the end of the war, the remainder of these Arab separatists fled to Iraq, though Saddam continued to entertain the notion of a potential future invasion of Khuzestan for many years afterwards.
In the last century, except during the Iran-Iraq war, the province of Khuzestan thrived and prospered and today counts for one of the regions in Iran that holds an economic and defensive strategic position.
Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran, and as such is the wealthiest province in Iran.
Karun River is the only river in Iran capable of sailing. The British, up until recent decades, after the oil discovery in Khuzestan by Sir Henry Layard, transported their merchandise via Karun's waterways, passing through Ahvaz all the way up to Masjed Soleiman to the site of their first oil wells in the Naftoon oil field. Karun is capable of the sailing of fairly large ships as far up as Shushtar.
Karkheh, Jarrahi, Arvand, Handian, Shavoor, Bahmanshir (Bahman-Ardeshir), Maroon-Alaa', Dez, and many other rivers and water sources in the form of Khurs, lagoons, ponds, and marshes demonstrate the vastness of water resources in this region, and are the main reason for the variety of agricultural products such as wheat, barley, oily seeds, rice, eucalyptus, medical herbs; the existence of many palm and citrus farms. The abundance of water supplies, rivers, and dams, also has an influence on the fishery industries
The Karun and Karkheh Dam, as well as the petroleum reserves provide Iran with national sources of revenue and energy.
The petrochemical and steel industries, pipe making, and the power stations that feed the national electricity demand, the chemical plants, and the large refineries are some of Iran's major industrial facilities. Khuzestan is also home to Yadavaran Field, a major oil field.
Other links:
The Province of Ilam
The province of Kermanshah
History and Culture, Kermanshah
Province of Kurdistan
The Province of West Azarbaijan
Province of East Azarbaijan
Province of Qazvin
