TEHRAN: Iran has requested foreign assistance in extinguishing a large fire that has ravaged UNESCO World Heritage-listed forests in the north of the country for several days, local media reported on Saturday.
The Hyrcanian forests stretch for about 1,000 kilometers along the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea and into neighboring Azerbaijan.
UNESCO recognized the forests as a World Heritage Site in 2019, deeming them unique for both their age — between 25 and 50 million years old — and their varied biodiversity, as home to more than 3,200 species of plants.
A fire that broke out in the area in early November and was initially quelled reignited on November 15, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.
Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, deputy to Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, wrote Friday on X that “faced with the impossibility of containing the fire,” Iran had “requested urgent assistance from friendly countries.”
