Amid Soaring Heat, Iran Warns of Fire Risk in Iraqi Side of Vital Wetland

As temperatures soar in Khuzestan province, Iranian environmental officials have sounded the alarm about the risk of fire in the Iraqi portion of the Hor al-Azim marshes. 

Dawood Mirshekar, Director General of Khuzestan's Environmental Protection, announced that his agency has been working to prevent such a disaster.

"Iran's Environmental Protection Organization has taken this issue seriously," Mirshekar told ISNA. 

"We hope that, through coordination with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, negotiations with Iraq's counterpart can begin promptly," he added. 

Despite the current satisfactory water levels in the Iranian part of the wetland, concerns remain high about the neighboring section.

"While the Iraqi part also has water, and we are optimistic about mitigating problems through proper planning, no concrete actions have been taken yet to prevent fire there," Mirshekar explained. 

He added that consultations were underway to devise strategies for extinguishing any potential blaze.

Last year's experience has heightened these concerns. 

Mirshekar revealed that 90 percent of fires in Hor al-Azim originated in the Iraqi territory, with some spreading into Iran. 

"We have corresponded with both our national Environmental Protection Organization and Khuzestan Governorate to offer Iraq assistance in case of an emergency," he said.

The Khuzestan Water Resources Organization said that water transfer projects and the construction of dams on the marshes' tributaries caused significant damage to the region. 

Water protests in Iran have become more frequent and culminated with the June 2021 demonstrations in Khuzestan, which triggered nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic. 

The protests followed the mass deaths of livestock due to diminishing water supplies and the drying-up of rivers and wetlands such as the Hor al-Azim marshes. 

They also became anti-government due to the widespread belief that years of mismanagement of water resources were the main cause of the shortages.