MESOPOTAMIA NEWS SPECIAL : ASMLA: An Empirical Exploration of an Ethno-Nationalist Terrorist Organization

By Arvin KhoshnoodJune 23, 2021 – Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 193

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) is an ethno-nationalist Sunni Muslim organization that strives to establish an independent Arab state, Ahvaz, within the borders of Iran. The group is active through various front organizations in Europe. Its armed wing, the Mohiuddin Nasser Brigade, has conducted several armed attacks inside Iran. Several of those attacks, especially those committed by the organization in its early days, killed civilians.

In 2018, as part of the umbrella organization Ahvaz National Resistance, ASMLA claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack against a military parade in the city of Ahvaz that occurred on September 22. This attack resulted in 25 deaths and more than 60 injured, including many civilians.

ASMLA’s two branches are headquartered in Denmark and the Netherlands. In 2020, Danish and Dutch authorities arrested three ASMLA leaders on suspicion of participation in terrorism and espionage on behalf of Saudi Arabia against Iran. The trial of the three began on April 29, 2021, and is still ongoing.

This report, which is based on primary source materials issued by ASMLA, critically investigates the organization’s objectives, origins, and operations and draws the conclusion that ASMLA is an ethno-nationalist terrorist organization.

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