Ministers of Intelligence and Interior to Answer Parliament Over “Suspicious” Fires

The Ministers of Intelligence and Interior are heading to Iran’s parliament to respond to hundreds of fires that have occurred over the past six days. A member of parliament’s presidium has stated that the fires are suspicious and require clarification.

NASA and the Global Forest Watch have monitored 1,708 active fires in Iran’s forests and 287 fire warnings in natural areas over the past six days.

According to Hamshahri newspaper, citing the Global Forest Watch report based on various NASA satellite maps, Khuzestan province has been hit with 579 fires, Fars with 301 fires, Bushehr with 190 fires, Ilam with 181 fires, and Isfahan with 156 forest fires, with fires still uncontrolled in some of these areas.

In natural areas, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Hormozgan, Razavi Khorasan, Tehran, and Kermanshah have recorded the next highest rates of natural area fires.

According to these figures, another one percent of Iran’s protected forests have burned in recent days.

The occurrence of these fires, especially in the heart of spring, has raised many questions. The most important question is what factors have caused these fires, to what extent human factors have been involved in their outbreak, and why they remain uncontrolled.

Political and Security Nature of Fires

In recent days, fires have spread so extensively across Iran that they have raised certain “suspicions” even among officials themselves, giving the fire issue a “political and security” dimension and bringing the Ministers of Intelligence and Interior to parliament.

Alireza Salimi, a member of parliament’s presidium, has stated: “The Ministers of Interior and Intelligence are invited to parliament to present a report on the fires of the past few days.”

This member of parliament’s presidium emphasized: “The fires that have occurred are suspicious and necessary clarification must be provided regarding them.”

Destruction of 60,000 Hectares of Forest in Five Years

Iranian officials and authorities have collectively reported the destruction of 60,000 hectares of forest over the past five years.

Reza Bayani, Director General of the Engineering and Studies Office of the Organization of Forests, has stated that between 2015 and 2020, approximately 60,000 hectares of forest in Iran were destroyed due to fires, pests and diseases, dam construction, road construction, development activities, and timber smuggling.

New and Uncontrolled Fires

According to the latest reports, the Zagros oak forests of Dalaho in Kermanshah province have caught fire. Tehran’s Chitgar Park has also not been spared from fire during the hot spring season in Iran, with “part of Tehran’s respiratory lungs lost.”

Mohammad Nejaatipour, the governor of Baghmalak, reported on the morning of Sunday, June 8, the occurrence of fire in the oak forests of the region. He said that since morning, pastures and oak forests in Mangasht district have been on fire. This local official stated that since morning the fire has been controlled two or three times but has flared up again.

The fire on national lands and elevations known as Chahnaft Jahrom, which caught fire on the evening of Friday, June 6, remains uncontrolled and is still burning. The cause of this fire has not been determined.

Mehdi Shafieian, the governor of Jahrom, has stated that the difficult terrain of the area, strong winds, and vegetation cover have made fire suppression operations difficult.

This is the fifth major fire in Jahrom county in recent months.

Smoking and Starting Fires Near Agricultural Lands

Ebadollah Nouri, the director of agricultural jihad in Helilan county in Ilam province, also reported the occurrence of fire. This local official stated that the fire occurred “due to carelessness by some individuals and the proximity of agricultural lands near the Kahreh road, resulting in these agricultural lands catching fire.”

The director of agricultural jihad in Helilan county has asked the people to “refrain from smoking, starting fires, and unnecessarily accumulating flammable materials near agricultural lands to prevent such incidents.”

10 Years Imprisonment for Forest and Pasture Arson

Concurrently with numerous reports from across Iran about forest and pasture fires, authorities have threatened that perpetrators of these fires will be punished.

The legal deputy of the Organization of Forests and Rangelands announced that, according to an agreement reached with the prosecutor general, individuals who intentionally set forests and rangelands on fire will be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.

According to IRIB, Reza Aflati described the widespread fires in forests and rangelands across different regions of Iran as resulting from “good rainfall and excessive growth of vegetation cover in forests and rangelands.”

He reported the identification and arrest of several individuals in this regard, stating that these individuals have been handed over to judicial authorities.

Source: DW