Iranian authorities have imposed temporary bans on entering forest regions across the north and west of the country after wildfires damaged vast areas of woodland and pasture that officials now say are largely under control.
The commander of Iran’s Forest Protection Unit, Colonel Majid Zakariaei, said fires this year have scorched about 46,000 hectares of national land, forest and rangeland.
He told state media that from March to November more than 2,300 fires were recorded nationwide – a 12-percent rise in the number of incidents compared with the same period last year, though the total burned area was about two percent smaller.
Zakariaei said around 95 percent of fires were linked to human activity, including careless visitors and campers, compounded by drought and rising temperatures.
“Climate change, reduced rainfall, and dryness have turned natural areas into tinder,” he said, calling for better public awareness and faster local response systems.
While the largest recent fires in the Hyrcanian Forests – the ancient, UNESCO-listed woodlands along the Caspian Sea – have been extinguished, authorities warned that dry conditions persist and that access will remain restricted until effective autumn rains arrive.
“The situation is still fragile. Until we have sufficient rainfall, unnecessary entry to the forests is prohibited,” Zakariaei said, announcing that bans now cover the Hyrcanian, Zagros and Arasbaran forest zones.
The measure, which includes parts of Mazandaran, Golestan, Ardabil and North Khorasan provinces, is aimed at preventing new flare-ups.
Firefighting teams remain on full alert and village councils near the forests have been told to prepare local emergency stations.
Political and media reactions
The government’s handling of the fires has triggered debate in Iranian media and on social networks.
The newspaper Farhikhtegan said in an article on Wednesday that several of the northern fires may have been intentionally set, describing them as “organized acts” rather than the result of drought or accident.
The paper cited unnamed officials who said about 20 suspects had been detained.
The article suggested that such incidents were meant to “undermine confidence in the state’s crisis management,” framing the destruction as part of broader attempts to disrupt the country.
Environmental officials have not endorsed those claims and maintain that negligence remains the dominant cause. They say most of the recent fires began near roads, farms or picnic areas rather than in inaccessible terrain.
Iran’s environmental community has urged a focus on prevention with experts saying that weak firefighting infrastructure, limited aerial equipment and late detection continue to leave forests vulnerable.
The Hyrcanian Forests, believed to be among the world’s oldest surviving temperate forests, are home to hundreds of endemic plant and animal species. Prolonged drought and land encroachment have already reduced much of their natural resilience.
Zakariaei said Iran plans to expand its firefighting bases and training programs, with 21 stations now designated nationwide and more in development. “With better readiness and local participation, we hope to reduce next year’s figures,” he said.
About 52 million barrels of Iranian oil were sitting in floating storage, the most since May 2023, with roughly half of the volumes parked off Malaysia, data from shipping-intelligence firm Kpler showed.
The offshore build has nearly doubled from a month earlier, the data indicated, and has risen sharply from early-2025 levels as cargoes wait for buyers.
Traders said the backlog has widened discounts on Iranian grades such as Iran Light, in some cases to as much as $8 a barrel below ICE Brent, compared with around $4 in late summer.
Reuters reported this week that that China’s official crude imports from Indonesia have surged to levels far above what Indonesia actually exports, prompting traders and analysts to say the barrels are likely sanctioned Iranian oil being rebranded after ship-to-ship transfers near Malaysia.
They said Iran’s suppliers have long masked origins by labeling cargoes as Malaysian, but tougher scrutiny of Malaysian oil by banks and Malaysia’s clampdown on at-sea transfers have pushed dealers to use Indonesia as a new paper origin.
On Monday, Indonesia announced it will auction the seized Iranian tanker MT Arman 114 and its 1.245 million barrels of crude oil starting December 2.
Even with the relabeling shift, analysts cited by Reuters said most Iranian crude bound for China is still transferred between tankers off Malaysia, and Kpler estimates China has taken about 1.37 million barrels per day of Iranian or suspected Iranian crude this year, mainly via such transfers.
The accumulation comes as the global oil market is well supplied, with OPEC+ easing production curbs and non-OPEC producers adding output, pressuring prices this year.
Despite US sanctions, Iranian exports are still running at their fastest pace in years, leaving more barrels vulnerable to congestion when demand slows.
China remains the dominant buyer of Iranian crude, largely through independent “teapot” refineries that import discounted barrels.
Traders said many teapots have nearly exhausted the import quotas they need to bring in overseas crude, cooling their appetite for new Iranian shipments.
Recent USsanctions on Chinese firms and terminals accused of handling Iranian oil, including the Rizhao Shihua crude terminal, have further complicated offloading, forcing some tankers to divert to alternative ports.
