uman rights abuses in Iran are widespread, but the Iranian government is particularly repressive towards non–Fars populations that live in the country, a problem that deserves more international attention. The Azerbaijani Turks, who primarily live in Northern Iran, have suffered religious, cultural, and other types of persecution for decades. Changes in Tehran have not improved the situation, and the future looks grim.
Some basics help us understand the situation. Iran has a population of around 91 million; Azerbaijani Turks constitute the largest non–Fars group, around 30% of the total population. They primarily reside in East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and Ardabil provinces, though they also live in other provinces like Zanjan and Hamadan. Tehran fears that the Azerbaijani provinces could one day attempt to unite with Azerbaijan itself. Combine that with the Iranian government’s distrust of the general population and preference for violent and repressive tactics, and it becomes clear why the Iranian government treats Azerbaijani Turks as second–class citizens.
A group of members of the European Parliament used that exact term, second class citizens, to ask in 2023 the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy what Brussels will do to “curb the ayatollahs’ oppressive regime and its policy of destroying the historical, political and cultural heritage of the Azeri community.” The European Union has imposed sanctions over human rights abuses on Iran since 2011, which are renewed annually. Thus far they’ve been unsuccessful in meaningfully changing the situation.
Tehran’s discrimination against Azerbaijani Turks takes many forms. Cultural oppression is an ongoing problem. Azerbaijani Turks are forbidden from learning Azerbaijani history or the language at schools. Ms. J Tabrizi, Director of the Association for Human Rights of Azerbaijanis of Iran, explained at last year’s 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council that students in Iranian schools, “more than 70% of them will not have the right to study in their mother tongue.” Cultural oppression also includes the deletion of the history of Azerbaijanis by either not properly maintaining cultural heritage sites or changing the names of monuments and buildings from Azerbaijani/Turkic to Persian names. Sunni Muslims are also forbidden from some religious practices.
Lack of investment & development in these provinces and limited employment opportunities have tragic consequences. According to an August report by the Independent International Fact–finding Mission, published by the UN Human Rights–Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), “most ethnic minorities, including the Azerbaijani Turks, Ahwazi Arab, Baluch, and Kurds live below the national poverty line;” Amnesty International has a similar assessment of the situation. Ardabil province has a poverty rate of 45.3% and a 10.1% unemployment rate.
Azerbaijani Turks, Kurds, and other minorities were active participants in the protests after Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022. The OHCHR noted in a statement that “ethnic and religious minorities,” including Azerbaijani Turks, “[experienced] the highest number of deaths and injuries during the entire movement.” In November 2022, Azerbaijani Turks carried out anti–government protests, and a local medical student was killed. During said student’s funeral in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, Iranian security forces reportedly attacked the mourners, detaining many people too.
Reports from reliable international organizations have explained how Azerbaijani Turks have been tortured in the nefarious Evin prison located in Tehran. Other Azerbaijani Turk political prisoners, like human rights activists, are held in prisons in Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Sulduz, Salmas, and Khoy in South Azerbaijan. They have reportedly held hunger strikes to demand the suspension of death sentences handed by the regime. Individuals not involved in politics, like rapper Reza Tabrizi and artist Murtaza Parvin, were also detained without a lawful reason. The Iranian regime executed at least 901 people in 2024, according to the UN, including “dissidents and people connected to the 2022 protests.” It is unclear how many Azerbaijani Turks are in this number, but we can assume that many were executed.
Pollution is another problem as the Iranian government lacks interest in environmental security. Air pollution in Tabriz, the pollution caused by mining operations in the East and West Azerbaijan provinces and the decreasing levels of Lake Urmia in northern Iran, are very concerning. Iran’s neighbors also exacerbate the situation, namely Armenia’s pollution of the Aras River, which has caused high rates of cancer among the inhabitants of the Ardabil region, not to mention water shortages in dozens of villages across East Azerbaijan and Zanjan provinces.
There is little reason to believe the situation will improve. Last May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir–Abdollahian, and other officials lost their lives when their helicopter crashed near the border with Azerbaijan. A snap presidential election took place and Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, was the winner. Pezeshkian is regarded as a moderate and has promised domestic reforms; he said at a televised debate, “people are discontent with us because of our behavior.” Unfortunately, half a year into his presidency, there are no announcements or decrees coming from the Pezeshkian administration to suggest Tehran’s attitude and history of state–sponsored discrimination against the Azerbaijani Turk community, not to mention other ethnic groups across Iran, will improve.
At a time of regional and global geopolitical shifts, there are, sadly, many issues that remain unchanged. A new administration in Tehran has not changed the country’s legacy of repression against its population. For minorities like the Azerbaijani Turks living in Iran, the discrimination and life as second–class citizens continue.
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Understanding Iran’s oppressive policies against Azerbaijani Turks
HERO: Lake Urmia, Iran. Photo by Mohammad Marjani from Unsplash.
February 5, 2025
Azerbaijani Turks in Iran endure discrimination and cultural oppression. Changes in Tehran have not improved the situation, and the future looks grim, writes Wilder Alejandro Sánchez.
H
uman rights abuses in Iran are widespread, but the Iranian government is particularly repressive towards non–Fars populations that live in the country, a problem that deserves more international attention. The Azerbaijani Turks, who primarily live in Northern Iran, have suffered religious, cultural, and other types of persecution for decades. Changes in Tehran have not improved the situation, and the future looks grim.
Some basics help us understand the situation. Iran has a population of around 91 million; Azerbaijani Turks constitute the largest non–Fars group, around 30% of the total population. They primarily reside in East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, and Ardabil provinces, though they also live in other provinces like Zanjan and Hamadan. Tehran fears that the Azerbaijani provinces could one day attempt to unite with Azerbaijan itself. Combine that with the Iranian government’s distrust of the general population and preference for violent and repressive tactics, and it becomes clear why the Iranian government treats Azerbaijani Turks as second–class citizens.
A group of members of the European Parliament used that exact term, second class citizens, to ask in 2023 the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy what Brussels will do to “curb the ayatollahs’ oppressive regime and its policy of destroying the historical, political and cultural heritage of the Azeri community.” The European Union has imposed sanctions over human rights abuses on Iran since 2011, which are renewed annually. Thus far they’ve been unsuccessful in meaningfully changing the situation.
Tehran’s discrimination against Azerbaijani Turks takes many forms. Cultural oppression is an ongoing problem. Azerbaijani Turks are forbidden from learning Azerbaijani history or the language at schools. Ms. J Tabrizi, Director of the Association for Human Rights of Azerbaijanis of Iran, explained at last year’s 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council that students in Iranian schools, “more than 70% of them will not have the right to study in their mother tongue.” Cultural oppression also includes the deletion of the history of Azerbaijanis by either not properly maintaining cultural heritage sites or changing the names of monuments and buildings from Azerbaijani/Turkic to Persian names. Sunni Muslims are also forbidden from some religious practices.
Lack of investment & development in these provinces and limited employment opportunities have tragic consequences. According to an August report by the Independent International Fact–finding Mission, published by the UN Human Rights–Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), “most ethnic minorities, including the Azerbaijani Turks, Ahwazi Arab, Baluch, and Kurds live below the national poverty line;” Amnesty International has a similar assessment of the situation. Ardabil province has a poverty rate of 45.3% and a 10.1% unemployment rate.
Azerbaijani Turks, Kurds, and other minorities were active participants in the protests after Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022. The OHCHR noted in a statement that “ethnic and religious minorities,” including Azerbaijani Turks, “[experienced] the highest number of deaths and injuries during the entire movement.” In November 2022, Azerbaijani Turks carried out anti–government protests, and a local medical student was killed. During said student’s funeral in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province, Iranian security forces reportedly attacked the mourners, detaining many people too.
Reports from reliable international organizations have explained how Azerbaijani Turks have been tortured in the nefarious Evin prison located in Tehran. Other Azerbaijani Turk political prisoners, like human rights activists, are held in prisons in Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Sulduz, Salmas, and Khoy in South Azerbaijan. They have reportedly held hunger strikes to demand the suspension of death sentences handed by the regime. Individuals not involved in politics, like rapper Reza Tabrizi and artist Murtaza Parvin, were also detained without a lawful reason. The Iranian regime executed at least 901 people in 2024, according to the UN, including “dissidents and people connected to the 2022 protests.” It is unclear how many Azerbaijani Turks are in this number, but we can assume that many were executed.
Pollution is another problem as the Iranian government lacks interest in environmental security. Air pollution in Tabriz, the pollution caused by mining operations in the East and West Azerbaijan provinces and the decreasing levels of Lake Urmia in northern Iran, are very concerning. Iran’s neighbors also exacerbate the situation, namely Armenia’s pollution of the Aras River, which has caused high rates of cancer among the inhabitants of the Ardabil region, not to mention water shortages in dozens of villages across East Azerbaijan and Zanjan provinces.
There is little reason to believe the situation will improve. Last May, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir–Abdollahian, and other officials lost their lives when their helicopter crashed near the border with Azerbaijan. A snap presidential election took place and Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, was the winner. Pezeshkian is regarded as a moderate and has promised domestic reforms; he said at a televised debate, “people are discontent with us because of our behavior.” Unfortunately, half a year into his presidency, there are no announcements or decrees coming from the Pezeshkian administration to suggest Tehran’s attitude and history of state–sponsored discrimination against the Azerbaijani Turk community, not to mention other ethnic groups across Iran, will improve.
At a time of regional and global geopolitical shifts, there are, sadly, many issues that remain unchanged. A new administration in Tehran has not changed the country’s legacy of repression against its population. For minorities like the Azerbaijani Turks living in Iran, the discrimination and life as second–class citizens continue.
