US State Department: Ethnic Azerbaijanis are discriminated against in Iran

Iranian Azerbaijanis are persecuted and discriminated against, according to the US State Department’s 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Iran, Report informs.

“Ethnic Azerbaijanis, who numbered more than 18 million, or approximately 24 percent of the population, were more integrated into government and society than other ethnic minority groups. Azerbaijanis reported that the government discriminated against them by harassing activists or organizers and prevented some parents from giving Turkic names to their children,” reads the report.