Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan


The Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan 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 revolution which overthrew the Shah. But after the 1979 Khuzestan insurgency, the DRFLA began a large-scale insurgency. In 1980, they seized 26 hostages in the Iranian embassy in London and threatened to execute them unless the United Kingdom delivered 91 Arabs incarcerated in Iranian prisons, and they asked the London ambassadors of Arab countries to mediate on their behalf with the British government. The UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher authorised Operation Nimrod, a projected assault to free the hostages. After negotiations had become bogged down, the SAS stormed the building and killed DRFLA leader Oan Ali Mohammed along with all but one of the other militants, with no casualties to themselves. Afterwards, the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan unleashed no more major attacks.