[4] In Khuzestan, Arabs have formed the dominant ethnic group in Shadegan, Hoveyzeh and Susangerd, a majority in Mahshahr, Khorramshahr, Abadan and Ahvaz.

[8] Following the aftermath 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 the forces loyal to the nascent revolutionary government.

The largest rebellion by the Kurds unfolded in the West (Iranian Kurdistan), though the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were also confronted by Arabs, Turkomans and Baluchs.

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.

Other Arabs of Khuzestan began protests against discrimination, which prompted the regime to send IRGC units to assist the already deployed navy and air force personnel (in Khorramshahr) in quelling the violence.

[10] 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 and Bakhtiari tribes were reportedly at odds with Khomeini's regime.

[citation needed] Although some Khuzestani Arabs initially aligned with the new revolutionary government in Tehran, they soon realized that the Islamic Republic under Ruhollah Khomenei intended to enforce the same policies of economic, political, and social marginalization as the previous regime of the Shah.