Two recent appeals issued by South Azerbaijani political and civic organizations expose a long-suppressed reality inside the Islamic Republic of Iran: the systematic repression of Azerbaijani identity, language, and political expression.

One document addresses the people of South Azerbaijan and other Turkic communities living under Iranian rule. The other is a direct appeal to US President Donald Trump. Read together, they form a clear indictment of Tehran’s domestic policies and a call for international engagement.

South Azerbaijan is not an administrative province but an ethnic-political term referring to the Azerbaijani-populated regions of northwestern Iran. An estimated 25 to 30 million ethnic Azerbaijanis live in these areas, making them Iran’s largest non-Persian population. Yet despite their size and historical presence, Azerbaijanis remain politically marginalized and culturally constrained.

What the appeals state

The Appeal of the South Azerbaijani Organizations to the People of South Azerbaijan and Other Turkic Communities Living in the Geography of Iran states unequivocally that Iran’s political system is built on the denial of minority rights. The document accuses the regime of enforcing assimilation through bans on Azerbaijani-language education, suppression of cultural expression, and criminalization of peaceful activism.

“Our mother tongue is excluded from schools, our cultural institutions are restricted, and our activists are imprisoned under vague security charges,” the appeal declares. It urges Azerbaijani Turks and other Turkic communities to preserve their identity through civic unity, cultural awareness, and peaceful resistance to state-imposed erasure.

Language repression stands at the center of these grievances. Despite international conventions guaranteeing minority linguistic rights, Azerbaijani Turkish is prohibited as a language of instruction in Iran. Teachers, writers, and cultural organizers have faced arrest simply for promoting education in their native language. Public celebrations of Azerbaijani culture are monitored or shut down, and children grow up denied formal access to their own linguistic heritage.

The second document, Letter from South Azerbaijan Republicans to Donald Trump, President of the United States, shifts the focus outward. It directly urges Washington to recognize that Iran’s internal repression is inseparable from its external aggression.

“We call on the President of the United States to support the fundamental rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, including education in their mother tongue and genuine political representation,” the letter states. It argues that a regime that suppresses millions of its own citizens cannot be a stabilizing force regionally or globally.

The letter explicitly asks Trump to stand with the people of South Azerbaijan against “systematic discrimination and forced assimilation,” framing Azerbaijani rights as a human rights issue rather than an internal Iranian matter.

This appeal reflects growing frustration with international silence as arrests of Azerbaijani activists continue, often following peaceful demonstrations related to environmental concerns, cultural rights, or historical commemorations.

Iran's repression of ethnic minorities

For Israeli readers, these documents provide critical insight into Iran’s internal vulnerabilities. Tehran’s repression of ethnic minorities mirrors the coercive ideology it exports beyond its borders. A regime that criminalizes cultural identity at home is unlikely to respect sovereignty or pluralism abroad. Understanding the internal dynamics of Iran’s Turkic population offers a clearer picture of the pressures shaping the Islamic Republic.

For Azerbaijan, the issue is inherently sensitive. Baku has consistently adhered to a policy of non-interference in Iran’s internal affairs. Yet the appeals underscore an undeniable reality: Millions of ethnic Azerbaijanis across the border are denied the cultural and linguistic rights that Azerbaijan has institutionalized as a sovereign state.

What distinguishes these documents from earlier expressions of dissent is their method. They do not call for violence or instability. Instead, they articulate grievances in legal, civic, and moral terms designed to resonate internationally. This represents a strategic refinement in South Azerbaijani political communication – one aimed at accountability rather than provocation.

For Washington, the message is direct. Iran policy cannot remain narrowly focused on nuclear negotiations and regional militancy while ignoring systematic internal repression. Supporting the cultural and linguistic rights of South Azerbaijanis is not an act of escalation; it is a challenge to a regime that depends on enforced silence to maintain control.

These appeals do not predict immediate transformation. But they signal a growing unwillingness among Iran’s Azerbaijani population to accept invisibility. They demonstrate that the issue of South Azerbaijan has moved beyond local activism into the international arena. And they illustrate a reality Tehran has long tried to obscure: Iran’s internal cohesion is far more fragile than its official narrative suggests.

Whether the United States chooses to respond remains uncertain. What is clear is that South Azerbaijan has spoken – clearly, publicly, and directly – and is demanding that the world, at last, listen.

Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-886788