California fire framed by Iranian media as an act of divine wrath

Firefighters hose down a hotspot at a commercial building that burned down during the Eaton Fire, in Altadena, California, US, January 10, 2025.
Firefighters hose down a hotspot at a commercial building that burned down during the Eaton Fire, in Altadena, California, US, January 10, 2025.

Iran's hardline media described the Los Angeles fire as an act of divine anger and a punishment for the United States' support of Israel in the Gaza conflict.

The Kayhan newspaper, funded by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote on its front-page headline Saturday that by supporting Israel in Gaza, the US had "created apocalyptic scenes," and now "the cries of the oppressed children of Gaza and the Palestinian mothers have caught up with America, imposing a similar situation on the state of California and the city of Los Angeles."

The Jam-e Jam newspaper also ran a similar story on its front page with the headline "Fire-Angeles."

The newspaper referred to Donald Trump's comment that the Middle East would turn into hell if Israeli hostages were not freed before his inauguration and described the Los Angeles fire as "America's hell."

A representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also called the California fires "God's revenge against the leaders of America" over what he called their complicity in Israel's war in Gaza.

"A city the size of Gaza has burned, while all its inhabitants were American capitalists. This fire was God’s revenge against the American leaders," said Rasoul Falahati, a representative of Khamenei in Gilan province in northern Iran.

On Tuesday, US President-elect Donald Trump warned during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if Hamas does not release the hostages by Inauguration Day, repeating the statement several times.

The Arabic-language Al-Alam Network, owned by the state media corporation Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), shared images showing the destruction caused by the Los Angeles fires and compared them to the devastation in Gaza.

Other Iranian media also used terms like "Los Angeles in hell" and "the infernal city," criticizing what they described as "very weak" crisis management in the US.

The Fars News Agency reported that "the infernal fire of Los Angeles is days away from being contained."

On Friday, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted about the destruction caused by the California wildfires, comparing it to Gaza.

"Grim footage out of California is reminiscent of ravaged homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza," Zarif wrote. "It's only human to sympathize with Californians who've lost everything to the wrath of nature—particularly as many there have stood with Gazans who lost everything to the savagery of Israel."

Meanwhile, government offices and schools across Iran were shut down on Saturday due to a natural gas shortage, extending the ongoing energy crisis that began at the start of winter with widespread gas and electricity shortages.

Since Tuesday, six simultaneous blazes have swept through Los Angeles County neighborhoods, claiming at least 11 lives and damaging or destroying 10,000 structures. The toll is expected to rise as firefighters conduct house-to-house searches.

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The largest wildfire ravaging parts of Los Angeles this week changed direction on Saturday, prompting additional evacuation orders and presenting a fresh challenge to exhausted firefighters.