Iran's emergency services have asked citizens to avoid dangerous Chaharshanbe Suri fire festival traditions, as medical responders are overwhelmed treating casualties from the ongoing war.
Iranian officials are pleading with the public to scale back traditional celebrations for Chaharshanbe Suri, the annual Iranian festival of fire, as the country's medical infrastructure grapples with the fallout from ongoing military escalations.
The appeal comes from the head of the country's Emergency Medical Services, whose department is currently overwhelmed responding to casualties following the intense March 16 US and Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets and the ensuing regional clashes.
According to the Iranian breaking news channel اخبارفوری خبرفوری جنگ امریکا فوری — a source highly focused on immediate updates regarding the ongoing US-Iran conflict — the EMS chief stated: "Relief forces are currently serving the wounded of the war, therefore we ask people to spend Chaharshanbe Suri night with their families and avoid engaging in high-risk behaviors."
Chaharshanbe Suri traditionally involves jumping over bonfires and setting off fireworks, activities that routinely generate thousands of burn and trauma injuries across Iran each year. With emergency responders already stretched thin treating the "wounded of the war," authorities are pushing to keep citizens at home to prevent an additional wave of preventable casualties from paralyzing the healthcare system. The official statement has been widely circulated across prominent Iranian breaking news networks to maximize public compliance.
The source channels amplify official Iranian state and institutional directives. The reference to 'wounded of the war' reflects the domestic Iranian framing of the massive regional escalations that began on March 16.