Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan

Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan
Flag used by the group
Leader(s)	Oan Ali Mohammed (KIA)
Dates of operation	1979–1980
Motives	Armed resistance
Active region(s)	Khuzestan
Ideology	Arab nationalism
Notable attacks	1979 Khuzestan uprising, Iranian Embassy siege
Status	Sided with Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War.[1][2] Group morphed into ASMLA.[3]

The Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan Arabic: الجبهة الديمقراطية الثورية لتحرير عربستان‎, al-Jabha al-dīmuqrāṭiyya al-thawriyya li-taḥrīr ‘Arabistān) was an Iranian Arab militant group founded in 1979, most famous for the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 in London, United Kingdom. It was led by Oan Ali Mohammed, who was killed during the siege by SAS troops.

History

The DRFLA claims to have taken part in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, assisting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's coup d'etat which overthrew the Shah. But after the 1979 Khuzestan insurgency, the DRFLA began a large-scale insurgency. In 1980, they seized twenty-six hostages in the Iranian embassy in London and threatened to execute them unless the United Kingdom delivered ninety-one Arabs incarcerated in Iranian jails, and they asked the London ambassadors of Arab countries to mediate on their behalf with the British government. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher authorized Operation Nimrod, a projected assault to free the hostages, and a few days after negotiations had bogged down, the SAS killed DRFLA leader Oan Ali Mohammed and all but one of the other militants, with no casualties themselves. Afterwards, the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan unleashed no more major attacks.

References

• Chant, Chris: Special Forces. ISBN 978-1-4454-7214-0.