Iran has offered to send rapid response teams to help combat the wildfires in Los Angeles, despite deep-seated tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Newsweek reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the transition team for President-elect Donald Trump for comment via email outside of business hours.
Why It Matters
The wildfires that have caused thousands of people to lose their homes have incited a global response, with countries including Canada and Mexico sending help.
Tehran's offer of assistance is significant because it shows that even longstanding enemies such as Iran and the U.S. can cooperate in times of crisis.
What To Know
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration has offered to send firefighters to California to help fight the wildfires that began on January 7. The fires have consumed approximately 40,000 acres, destroying homes and businesses and killing at least 24 people. Three particularly potent blazes in the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, and investigators have begun working to determine the cause of the deadly flames.
According to a report by news outlet Iran International, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the spokesperson for the Pezeshkian administration said: "As the Iranian Red Crescent Society has announced, we are ready to dispatch rapid response teams to assist in combating the fires in California."
The Iranian Red Crescent Society is part of the "world's largest humanitarian network," made up of 191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It is particularly known for its expertise in responding to earthquakes.
The offer to provide aid via rapid response teams comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran increase ahead of Trump's upcoming return to office. He has stated that he will use "maximum pressure" in an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. This follows Trump's orchestration of the U.S.' 2018 exit from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Iranian state media has connected the LA fires to the war in Gaza, and said it was a form of divine punishment for U.S. support of Israel. Mohajerani made this connection in her statement on behalf of Pezeshkian when she said: "We recall the sorrow of thousands of displaced people who have suffered due to the selfishness and war-mongering of others."
Tehran's offer to help fight the wildfires could come because there is a significant Iranian population in LA. Sometimes referred to as "Tehrangeles," the 2020 census found that Los Angeles county was home to more than 100,000 Iranians, the largest Persian community outside of Iran, according to the New York Times.
What People Are Saying
Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for the Pezeshkian administration said: "Human beings cannot remain indifferent to the destruction of homes and natural resources of other nations, whether caused by war or the wrath of nature. We sympathize with you, the people of California, who have been separated from your homes and safe living environments, have lost your homes and possessions to the fires, and have endured this devastating wildfire caused by severe climate change."
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on January 11, the Iranian Red Crescent Society wrote: "The President of the #Iranian #Red_Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand, has communicated with Cliff Holtz, the President of the #American #Red_Cross, expressing readiness to dispatch rapid response teams and rescue equipment to the United States to aid in #fire_fighting efforts."
In a statement, Iran's Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said: "In today's interconnected world, one person's pain is everyone's pain; we extend our condolences to all those affected by the wildfires in California and pray for a speedy recovery. It is necessary to take urgent measures at the global level to solve and deal with crises, whether it is the genocide and crimes of the occupying regime in Gaza or the crisis caused by climate change like what we are seeing today in the destructive fires in California."
Mahdi Arabsadegh, a power system and industrial consultant, wrote on X: "In these challenging times of widespread fires in Los Angeles and California, we, the people of Iran, stand in solidarity with our American friends. We feel your pain as if it were our own, transcending borders and political divides. Stay strong, we are with you.#UnityInAdversity."
What Happens Next
Whether or not the U.S. allows Iranian rapid response teams to come and help combat the LA wildfires remains to be seen.
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