Energy assets and a strategic port: the areas where the explosions took place in Iran

In the province of Khuzestan, where the city of Ahvaz is located, there is also the Ahvaz oil field, the largest in the Islamic Republic and the fourth largest in the world. About one million barrels of oil per day are produced at the strategic site, while data from the OPEC oil exporting cartel show that the total Iranian daily production in the months of November and December was about 3.19 million barrels per day.

In the region of Ahwaz lives an Arab people called the Ahwazim (or the Ahwazim, in their own words), who make up a significant part of the population in the region and about 3% of the total population of Iran, which is estimated at about 93 million people. For the most part, it could be assumed that the locals would benefit from the economic well-being of Iran’s large oil resources, but in the Islamic Republic as in the Islamic Republic, they are considered one of the most disadvantaged sectors.

Although in the area where the Ahwazis live, most of Iran’s oil and even natural gas resources are found, the locals make a living mainly from agriculture. In recent years, their situation has worsened even more, due to global warming, but also due to the fault of the Ayatollah regime, which diverted water sources that dried up the fields where wheat, for example, is grown.

The oppression of the Ahwazis reflects the situation of the many minorities in Iran that include, for example, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Baluchis and Turkmens, who, although they make up according to estimates more than half of the population – cannot express their language in official institutions. In the case of the Ahwazis there is another challenge that is religious, by virtue of being Sunnis in a country that is considered the leader of the extreme Shiites.

Intelligence gathering ships in disguise

No less than the concerns of the Iranians for the energy assets in Ahvaz, these are the concerns that concern the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas. It is located in the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf through which about 20% of the world’s maritime trade and about 30% of the oil pass. The well-known property in the area is “Shahid Rajai”, the largest commercial port in the Islamic Republic where about 80 million tons of goods pass through annually, which is about 70% of all Iranian trade.

On the military level, the city houses the headquarters of the Iranian Navy and the Revolutionary Guards. Each of these forces has different responsibilities. Iran’s navy relies on the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, i.e. the open sea. While the IRGC’s navy is responsible for controlling the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore, every significant entry of American naval forces into the Gulf is accompanied by Iranian provocations.

Despite the differentiation between the Iranian navies “on paper”, the goal of both is to help advance the interests of the regime. This is why Tehran finances the salaries of 18,000 soldiers in the Iranian navy and about 20,000 more in the Revolutionary Guards’ fleet. The means of the Iranian fleets are adapted to their tasks, with the main naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards being based on fast boats for the ongoing security in the Persian Gulf. Alongside this, the Iranian Navy operates three attack submarines, and about 15 midget submarines, destroyers and landing craft. The one who apparently helps the Iranian shipyards with the know-how in building the ships is North Korea.

The Revolutionary Guards also operate an array of seemingly innocent merchant ships, which are actually used as intelligence gathering ships for all intents and purposes. The use of these merchant ships could be seen in the hijacking of the “Galaxy Leader” ship owned by Rami Unger’s Ray company. On the morning of November 19, 2023, the ship passed by the spy ship “Bashad”, and at 13:05 the Houthis took control of it. The presence of the Iranian naval intelligence system is not new. Another ship in the formation, Sabiz, which is defined as a general cargo ship, was attacked off the coast of Eritrea in 2018. According to foreign publications, the operation was carried out by Israel.