acceptable levels whilst Iranian authorities acknowledged that the air pollution levels had reached only 51. The causes of the increase in the levels of carbon in this region can be attributed to the concentration of factories in it, such as petrochemical, iron, steel and plastics factories, as well as petrochemical companies burning waste. It is worth noting that natural elements have also increased the levels of air pollution in a region where sand and dust storms occur every summer. These sandstorms blow in from the Arabian peninsula as a result of the lowering in air pressure over the Caspian Sea. Its elevation in the peninsula leads to the movement of winds carrying dust and sand from areas of high pressure in the region to areas of low pressure. These winds cross the region of Al Ahwaz during their journey. [Image with caption ‘Dust Storm This Weekend’] ‘Air depressions of low and high pressure and the movement of sandstorms’ [Image to the right of previous image] ‘Pictures from NASA showing the density of sandstorms over Al Ahwaz’ [Image center-below ] ‘Average distribution of the annual number of sandstorms according to a study undertaken by Mustaba Jalboudi and others 2013’ As for water pollution, this includes river and sea pollution (the Arabian Gulf) as a result of the disposal of chemical and petrochemical waste, and as a result of iron, steel, and petrochemical factories, both of which travel a long way, in addition to nuclear radiation from the Bushehr reactor. Several third party projects have contributed to the loss of entire habitats as a result of the drying up of the River Karun after the course of its tributaries was diverted to the interior of Iran. This, in addition to building dams on the river and its tributaries which number 74 dams of different sizes; 17 dams in Khuzestan and 55 in the province of Hormozgan and one dam each in the provinces of Bushehr and Ilam. This drying up also led to the desertification of large areas of the region especially the lakes of Fellahia and Howzia and, after the failure of the government’s sugar cane project, the burning of thousands of hectares of fields belonging to Ahwazis. The pollution of sea water became apparent as dead fish were discovered on the northern coasts of Al Ahwaz.The most dangerous finding was an increase in the levels of lead and mercury found in the region’s fish as fish is one of the most common meals amongst the Arabs of Al Ahwaz. The pollution of the drinking water not only lead to harmful effects on the region’s inhabitants, but it also led to a lack of balance in the earth’s crust and an increase in the number of earthquakes in a region which is already prone to them as a result of shifting plates and the proximity of the Arab plate to the Asian tectonic plate. In addition, the accumulation of water reservoirs behind the dams triggered an increase in the frequency of earthquakes in the region according to scientific studies in different parts of the world. 6. Conclusion What rights activists in Al Ahwaz are asking for is straightforward, and could be realised if the Iranian government actually regarded the region of Al Ahwaz as a part of its territory