By Andrew L. Jaffee

Someone set off a bomb today in Ahwaz, a city in Iran’s south. This was not an isolated incident, only one in a series of bombings in Iran, and there are continuing signs of popular dissatisfaction with the Islamist regime. From the BBC:

A bomb exploded in the southern Iranian city of Ahwaz, hours after two men were hung for an attack last year, according to Iranian reports.

The percussion bomb shattered the windows of a building in the Kianpars area of the city on Thursday evening, but no casualties were reported.

The attack is the latest in a series to hit the restive Khuzestan Province, at the heart of Iran’s oil industry.

Eight people died in bomb attacks on a government office and bank a month ago.

Iran has accused British forces stationed just across the Iran-Iraq border of co-operating with ethnic Arab separatist groups who said they were behind the blasts. The UK has denied any involvement.

See the links provided in this BBC story for more information on other bombings in Iran.

Note that the Beeb added:

In November, protests erupted in Ahwaz after ethnic Arabs accused Iran’s Persian majority of discrimination.

Popular unrest has not yet again reached the level of that experienced in 2004, when thousands of Iranians protested in the streets of Tehran and other cities. But signs of popular discontent with the current mullahcracy persist.

Iranians didn’t exactly celebrate the 27th anniversary of the Islamic revolution with enthusiasm. Sporadic protests broke out in Tehran last month. Tehran’s Collective Bus Company (TCBC) employees went on a very public strike recently. Clashes between citizens and official security forces rocked the city of Sannandaj in January. Iranian young people vented their frustrations at a soccer game in December.

There have been many other instances of unrest — see here or click here and enter the search term “Iran protests.”

While it sometimes seems hopeless, just one incident could end up igniting a fire that the mullahs can’t put out. Let us hope that Iranians can topple their Islamist regime before the mullahs get the ultimate guarantee for staying in power — nuclear weapons.