Key Takeaways
- Residents of southern Iran blame US attacks for worsening their lives.
- No new wave of anti-government protests has emerged despite the conflict.
- Southerners express frustration and fear due to power cuts and economic hardships.
Opposition to Iran’s government has long simmered in the country’s impoverished south, but recent US strikes have intensified local anger towards President Donald Trump. Southern Iran, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, has been a major target of US attacks on ports, energy facilities and transport infrastructure.
According to Reuters, most of the more than two dozen southern residents interviewed by phone or messaging apps agreed that the strikes had gone beyond legitimate military targets. Amin, who runs a small boarding house for tourists in the south, said: 'Trump has ruined our lives.'
Despite the ongoing conflict, none of those interviewed expressed support for renewed anti-government protests. Reza, 62, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, stated his willingness to fight against the United States if needed but added that he was not supporting any unrest now: 'If my country needs me I’ll take up arms again, not for this regime but for the soil beneath my feet.'
The southerners Reuters spoke to included people who had taken part in previous bouts of protest, but none said they supported renewed unrest. Hadi, a grocery shop owner in Khuzestan province, expressed his frustration: 'The US attacks have deepened our problems. No electricity for hours means no water for hours in this heat.'
Southern Iran’s provinces of Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchistan form a large, diverse region stretching along a humid, rugged coastline from Iraq to Pakistan. Despite having most of Iran’s oil and gas, southerners have complained of low investment, little opportunity and poor state services.
Majid, a 41-year-old engineer in Konarak, said the war had brought new fear to a town already struggling with years of neglect: 'Nights filled with the sound of explosions, followed by days of heat, hours of darkness and fears of empty water pipes.' Power cuts have become especially punishing in provinces where summer temperatures regularly climb above 40 degrees Celsius.
The authorities deny any regional, ethnic or religious discrimination. However, residents like Hadi feel that the US attacks are exacerbating their already difficult living conditions: 'I love Iran. This war should stop. Enough is enough.'
'Trump has ruined our lives.'
Amin, Tourism boarding house owner in southern Iran
'If my country needs me I’ll take up arms again, not for this regime but for the soil beneath my feet. It’s the least I owe it.'
Reza, Retired teacher from Abadan in southwestern Khuzestan province
'The US attacks have deepened our problems. No electricity for hours means no water for hours in this heat.'
Hadi, Grocery shop owner in Khuzestan province
