Iran has formally requested urgent international assistance to combat massive wildfires raging for the 20th consecutive day in the UNESCO-listed Hyrcanian Forests.
Kabul 24: The fires, which have spread across several provinces along the Caspian Sea coast, prompted Tehran to seek immediate foreign help for the first time in decades.
On Saturday morning (November 22, 2025), the first foreign firefighting aircraft — a Beriev BE-200 amphibious jet dispatched by Turkey — landed at Noshahr Airport in Mazandaran province before being redeployed to Marzanabad to begin water-dropping operations. The aircraft can carry up to 12 tons of water or fire retardant per sortie.Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Russia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan have all declared full readiness to send additional heavy assets.
According to informed sources, two Russian Il-76 “water bomber” transports and at least one Belarusian aircraft are expected to arrive within the next 48 hours.
The ancient Hyrcanian Forests, a 1,000-kilometer green belt stretching along the southern Caspian coast, were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2019.
With origins dating back more than 40 million years, they are among the last remnants of temperate forests from the Tertiary period and serve as critical habitat for endangered species including the Persian leopard, brown bear, and Caspian red deer.So far, more than 1,200 hectares have been burned, with the hardest-hit area being the protected “Elit” region near Chalus.
Thick smoke has blanketed coastal cities from Astara to Gorgan, causing air quality alerts.Iranian authorities have described the majority of the blazes as “human-caused and deliberate.”
The Prosecutor General has ordered an urgent investigation into suspected arson, while the President has personally activated the national crisis management headquarters and urged all nations to join a coordinated effort to save this irreplaceable global heritage site.
