Overview
- The blazes have been burning for roughly two weeks in the Hyrcanian forests of Golestan province, a UNESCO-listed ecosystem dating to as much as 50 million years.
- Turkey has joined suppression efforts, and Iran announced the deployment of two firefighting planes and a helicopter to reinforce the response.
- Firefighters, forestry staff, paramilitary units and volunteers are working across steep, hard-to-access terrain that complicates attacks on lingering hotspots.
- Officials report localized gains in some areas, but overall control of the fires remains uncertain.
- The cause has not been determined, with speculation ranging from unauthorized hunters to illegal land clearing, as UNESCO and UN experts warn of threats to thousands of plant species and vulnerable wildlife.