Studying Beaked Whales entangled in Tuna nets in the northwest Indian Ocean.

Beaked Whales, Ziphiidae, spend the majority of their time in deep oceanic waters, spending most of their lives beyond the continental shelves, and little at the surface. This makes them one of the least well-understood groups of Cetaceans, or Mammals of any kind. Some species have few, if any, sitings ar sea, being known almost exclusively from bodies washed ashore in varying states of decomposition. Because of this, the taxonomy of Beaked Whales is less well-established than is the case for most Mammal groups, with new species and nomenclature revisions being published every few years. 

Studying Whales caught as bycatch offers a cost-effective way to study poorly understood Cetacean populations, providing insights into populations which can help shape conservation policies. Such data collection is often accomplished by training fishermen themselves as citizen scientists. Drift gillnets are widely used many parts of the world to target Tuna, but are also noted for the large amount of large-Vertebrate bycatch they produce. In the northwest Indian Ocean drift gillnets are widely used by the fishing fleets of Iran and Pakistan, presenting a threat to Whales in this area, but also presenting an opportunity for scientists to gather data on these Animals.

In a paper published in the journal Zoology in the Middle East on 13 February 2025, Muhammad Shoaib Kiani of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Karachi, Mohsen Rezaie-Atagholipour of the Qeshm Environmental Conservation Institute, Rab Nawaz and Muhammad Moazzam of the World Wide Fund for Nature - Pakistan, Bushra Shafiq also of the  Institute of Marine Science at the University of Karachi, Haleh Ali Abed of the Midaf Nature Conservation Society, and Koen Van Waerebeek, also of the Qeshm Environmental Conservation Institute and of the Centro Peruano de Estudios Cetológicos, present the results of a long-term study of Beaked Whale entanglements in Tuna gillnets in Iranian and Pakistani waters.

A citizen science program was established in Pakistan in 2012, in which fishermen on pelagic gillnet Tuna vessels were trained to collect data on Cetacean bycatch. In Iran reviews of mass media at local and national levels, looking for Cetacean-related stories, have been carried out since 2018, and a series of interviews of fishermen was carried out in 2022.

Kiani et al. discovered eight incidents in which entangled Cetaceans could be identified as Beaked Whales in the waters of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, two in Iranian territory, five in Pakistani territory, and one in international waters.

The first recorded incident happened on 10 February 2015, when fishermen on board the Pakistani vessel Al-Azaan discovered a live Beaked Whale caught in a gillnet they had deployed 95 km to the west of the Swatch (the undersea canyon formed where the Indus River enters the ocean) and 177 km off the coast of Sindh, an area where the seafloor is about 1.5 km deep. 

Based upon video evidence, this Whale was estimated to be 5-6 m long, and slender with a slightly protrudent melon (mass of adipose tissue on the forehead), and a long snout without protruding teeth. This Animal lacked the scars associated with tooth-raking typically seen in male Beaked Whales, and is therefore assumed to have been a female.

The Whale had a brownish-grey dorsal surface, slightly paler on the head, and had a large, Dolphin-like fin about two thirds of the way along its body. This is, along with its location in the tropical Indian Ocean, is considered to be consistent with a Longman’s Beaked Whale, Indopacetus pacificus. This species was first described in 1928 from the skull of a Whale found in Queensland Australia in 1882, with a second skull being found on the shore of Somalia, East Africa, in 1955. For a long time, these two specimens were all that was known of this species, however, recent studies have established that Whales washed up on the shores of the Philippines, Maui (Hawaii), Taiwan, Myanmar, the Andaman Islands, South Africa, and Japan, previously identified as Southern Bottlenose Whales, Hyperoodon planifrons, were in fact Longman’s Beaked Whales, and based upon this data, 65 sightings of live Whales in the  Indian and Pacific oceans have been assigned to the species.

The Whale encountered by the Al-Azaan became entangled in a net as it was being retrieved, allowing the crew to release it without apparent harm by cutting away part of the net. This process took about 30 minutes, and while the Whale is thought to have been unharmed, one of the fishermen received minor injuries.

(a)-(h). Successive steps in gillnet disentanglement operation of a Longman’s Beaked Whale, Indopacetus pacificus, in Pakistani waters. Note the head with moderately bulbous melon (e), (h), long rostrum (f), (g), (h) tubular in dorsal view (h), limited linear scarring (e) and large falcate dorsal fin (f, g). Selected frames were taken from a video. Kiani et al. (2025).

The second recorded incident happened on 31 March 2017, when an un-named Pakistani vessel encountered a 4 m long Whale 383 km off the coast of Pakistan, again in the Swatch area, an area where the sea slightly more than 3 km deep. 

This Whale had a distinct, but non-bulbous melon, a long slender snout, and a low, sub-triangular dorsal fin. The skin of the Whale was a uniform grey, slightly darker towards the tail, and it had no visible scarring of any type. It was not possible to identify this Whale to species level, but it was probably a member of the genus Mesoplodon, possibly Deraniyagala’s Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon hotaula, or Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens, although this species has never been recorded in the Indian Ocean, or even Ramari’s Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon eueu, although this species tends  to lighten towards the tail, and is a cold-water species, never previously recorded in the western Indian Ocean north of Mozambique. 

The third incident was recorded in August 2017, when a fisherman from Bandar-e-Konarak on the coast of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, sent a video to the Iranian National News Agency, IRIB News, showing a Whale entangled in a gill net. This incident is thought to have happened in the waters of Iran’s Exclusive Economic Zone, and probably close to Bandar-e-Konarak. 

The Whale could be seen to blow, suggesting that it was alive and breathing. It appears to be a Beaked Whale with no visible teeth. The bulbosity of the melon cannot be determined from the video. The fluke (tail) of the Whale can be seen, and from comparison to the arm of a fisherman, is estimated to be between about 140 cm wide, which would equate to a Whale 4.7-4.9 m in length. The fluke also lacks a median notch, confirming that the Animal is a Ziphiid.

An unidentified middle-sized Beaked Whale, with a melon of unclear bulbosity, net-entangled within Iran’s Exclusive Economic Zone waters off Sistan and Baluchistan Province, northern Gulf of Oman, in August 2017. (a), (b) Flukes without central notch and tailstock; (c) the only registered blow and vague view of the head. Both Mesoplodon sp. and Indopacetus pacificus would be possible. Kiani et al. (2025).

The fourth incident occurred on 18 January 2018, when a small-to-medium sized Beaked Whale was recorded trapped in gillnet 474 km from the coast of Pakistan, an area where the sea is slightly under 3.2 km deep. This Whale was 3.5-4.5 m long, with a medium length snout and a non-bulbous melon and no central notch on its fluke; its colour and/or markings could not be determined due to poor light. This is consistent with it being a member of the genus Mesoplodon. The Pakistani fishermen who encountered this Whale were able to disentangle it from their nets, and report if swam away in good condition. 

The fifth incident occurred on 19 March 2019, when two Beaked Whales, interpreted as a mother and calf, became entangled in the same gillnet off Churna Island, 96 km from the coast of the Pakistani Mainland. The waters here are shallow, at 295 m.

The calf was described as the size of an adult Common Bottlenose Dolphin, making it 3.0-3.5 m in length, while it was not possible to estimate the size of the larger Whale. The smaller Whale had a dark grey upper surface,  and a whitish underside. It had a short snout, and no sign of a bulbous melon, its dorsal fin hooked, no notch could be seen in the tail. These Whale are also interpreted as belonging to the genus Mesoplodon. The fishermen reported successfully disentangling both Whales.

The sixth recorded incident happened in February 2022, when Iranian fishermen reported encountering a Whale caught in a drift gillnet 1300 km off the coast of Bandar-e-Beris in eastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Video footage of the incident shows a medium-sized Beaked Whale with a medium-length Dolphin-like beak, and a non-steeply sloping melon, consistent with a member of the genus Mesoplodon. The video also shows that the Whale has two apical or slightly sub-apical mandibular teeth, indicating that it was male, as well as a dark eye-patch, an almost straight mouth, and a small, slightly hooked tail. The length of the Whale is uncertain, but it appears to be about 4.5-5.5 m.

An unidentified Mesoplodon sp. bycaught in far offshore waters of the northern Arabian Sea, 1300 km from Bandar-e-Beris at the eastern side of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province, in February 2022. (a), (c) Two erupted (sub)apical mandibular teeth indicate an adult male. (b) Dolphin-like, medium-length rostrum, gently sloping melon and smallish dorsal fin. Kiani et al. (2025).

The final incident happened in early June 2023, when a large Beaked Whale became entangled in a drift gillnet in the coastal Iranian Gulf of Oman, about 37 km from the port of Chabahar in eastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province. This Animal was clearly an adult male, with numerous took-rake scars and erupted apical teeth. It was estimated to have been 5.8-6.0 m in length, with an erect, Dolphin-like dorsal fin, and way brownish grey in colour with a lighter head. This is interpreted as being consistent with either a Longman’s Beaked Whale, Indopacetus pacificus, or a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris. 

An adult male Beaked Whale being liberated after accidental entanglement in Tuna gillnet in coastal waters of the Gulf of Oman, some 37 km from Chabahar, Iran, in early June  2023. (a) Large body size with two erupted teeth at the apex of the mandibula; (b) a tall, erect, falcate, Dolphin-like dorsal fin, a moderately long and well-defined rostrum; (c) with numerous tooth rakes on anterior body; and (d) some degree of bulbosity in the melon. The morphology of the Beaked Whale is congruent with Indopacetus pacificus, but Ziphius cavirostris cannot be excluded. Kiani et al. (2025).

The first of these incidents is regarded as the first record of Longman’s Beaked Whale, Indopacetus pacificus, in Pakistani waters, with incidents five and seven representing potential additional sightings. A beached individual assigned to the species was recorded in Gujarat State, India, in 2014, making the Pakistan entanglement the second record of the species in the northwest Indian Ocean. Previously a skull has been recorded from the coast of Somalia in 1955, a member of the species was sighted from Socotra Island, Yemen in 1971, and another in the waters of the southern Bay of Bengal in 2009. Five Longman’s Beaked Whales have been recorded as bycatch from Sri Lanka, although these have been disputed, and fourteen sightings and a stranding recorded from the Maldives. 

Incidents two, four, six, and possibly five represent the first records of Mesoplodon sp. in Iranian and Pakistani waters, although none of these specimens could be confidently identified to species level. 

Drift gillnets are considered to be one of the most significant anthropogenic threats to Whales, although evidence to support this is absent in many areas. Kiani et al.'s study shows entanglement is a clear threat to Beaked Whales in the northwestern Indian Ocean, as while all of the reported Whales were freed, it is likely that a greater number of Whales were not released safely, and therefore not reported.

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Local transmission of Dengue Fever recorded in Iran for the first time.

The transmission of Dengue Fever within Iran has been demonstrated for the first time in June 2024, according to a press release issued by the World Health Organization on 22 July 2024. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran reported to cases of the disease had been confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction testing at the Pasteur Institute in Bandar Abbas, both in patients from the city of Bandar-Lengheh in Hormozgan Province who had never travelled outside of Iran, and who can therefore be confirmed to have acquired the infection within the country. By 17 July 2024 twelve cases had been confirmed in Bandar-Lengheh among people who had no history of travel outside the country.

This development is not entirely unexpected, as the number of imported cases within Iran has remained steady at about 20 per year between 2017 and 2023, and the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes, which act as vectors for the disease, are both present in Sistan and Balouchistan, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzastan, and Gilan provinces. In 2024 the number of cases in the country has risen sharply, with 137 reported between 15 May and 10 July.

Dengue is a viral infection transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Mosquitoes and is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. The primary vectors that transmit the disease are Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes and, to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus.  These mosquitoes are also vectors of Chikungunya, Yellow Fever and Zika viruses. Dengue is widespread throughout the tropics, with local variations in risk influenced by climate parameters as well as social and environmental factors.

Colour print of the Dengue Mosquito Aedes aegypti (then called Stegomyia fasciata, today also Stegomyia aegypti). To the left, the male, in the middle and on the right, the female. Above left, a flying pair in copula. Emil August Goeldi (1905)/Wikimedia Commons.

Infection with the Dengue Virus can cause a wide spectrum of disease. Ranging from subclinical disease (people may not know they are even infected) to severe flu-like symptoms in those infected. Although less common, some people develop Severe Dengue, which can be any number of complications associated with severe bleeding, organ impairment and/or plasma leakage. Severe Dengue has a higher risk of death when not managed appropriately. Severe Dengue was first recognised in the 1950s during Dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand. Today, Severe Dengue affects most Asian and Latin American countries and has become a leading cause of hospitalisation and death among children and adults in these regions.

Dengue is caused by a Virus of the Flaviviridae family of positive-strand RNA Viruses and there are four distinct, but closely related, serotypes of the Virus that cause Dengue (Dengue Fever Virus-1, Dengue Fever Virus-2, Dengue Fever Virus-3 and Dengue Fever Virus-4). Recovery from infection is believed to provide lifelong immunity against that serotype. However, cross-immunity to the other serotypes after recovery is only partial, and temporary. Subsequent infections (secondary infection) by other serotypes increase the risk of developing Severe Dengue.

A transmission electron micrograph showing Dengue Virus virions (the cluster of dark dots near the centre). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikimedia Commons.

Dengue has distinct epidemiological patterns, associated with the four serotypes of the Virus. These can co-circulate within a region, and indeed many countries are hyper-endemic for all four serotypes. Dengue has an alarming impact on both human health and the global and national economies. Dengue Fever Virus is frequently transported from one place to another by infected travellers; when susceptible vectors are present in these new areas, there is the potential for local transmission to be established.

The incidence of Dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, and hence the actual numbers of dengue cases are under-reported. Many cases are also misdiagnosed as other febrile illnesses.

One modelling estimate indicates 390 million Dengue Virus infections per year, of which 96 million manifest clinically (with any severity of disease). Another study on the prevalence of dengue estimates that 3.9 billion people are at risk of infection with dengue viruses. Despite a risk of infection existing in 129 countries, 70% of the actual burden is in Asia.

The number of dengue cases reported to the World Health Organization increased over 8 fold over the last two decades, from 505 430 cases in 2000, to over 2.4 million in 2010, and 5.2 million in 2019. Reported deaths between the year 2000 and 2015 increased from 960 to 4032, affecting mostly younger age group. The total number of cases seemingly decreased during years 2020 and 2021, as well as for reported deaths. However, the COVID-19 pandemic might have also hampered case reporting in several countries.

The overall alarming increase in case numbers over the last two decades is partly explained by a change in national practices to record and report Dengue to the Ministries of Health, and to the World Health Organization. But it also represents government recognition of the burden, and therefore the pertinence to report Dengue disease burden.

Before 1970, only 9 countries had experienced Severe Dengue epidemics. The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in the World Health Organization regions of Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific. The Americas, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions are the most seriously affected, with Asia representing about 70% of the global burden of disease.

Not only is the number of cases increasing as the disease spreads to new areas including Europe, but explosive outbreaks are occurring. The threat of a possible outbreak of Dengue now exists in Europe; local transmission was reported for the first time in France and Croatia in 2010 and imported cases were detected in 3 other European countries. In 2012, an outbreak of Dengue on the Madeira islands of Portugal resulted in over 2000 cases and imported cases were detected in mainland Portugal and 10 other countries in Europe. Autochthonous cases are now observed on an annual basis in few European countries.

Iran forms part of the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region, which is considered to be at high risk to Dengue Fever epidemics, with many countries having fragile healthcare systems due to conflict and political instability, while other countries where healthcare systems are considered to be stronger are sufferering increased rains due to climate change, leading to a proliferation of the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Mosquitoes which act as vectors for the disease. 

The countries of the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Region. Özturk et al. (2024).

Iran is particularly threatened by the presence of both types of Mosquito and a climate favourable to the spread of the disease, as well as a large numbers of visitors from countries where the disease is endemic. The discovery that the disease is being transmitted in the country at this time is particularly alarming as it comes shortly before the annual Arba'in Pilgrimage, which this year will take place in August, with potentially millions of Shiite Muslims from around the world visiting the Shrine of Husayn ibn Ali in the city of Karbala in central Iran.

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Oil spill on the coast of Tobago, following wreck of mystery barge.

An oil slick has spread over 160 km on the Caribbean Sea following the wreck of a barge off the coast of the island of Tobago on 7 February 2024. The wreck was not reported by the barge's owners, but instead was spotted by beachgoers who reported it to the Tobago Emergency Management Authority. The barge has capsized on Cove Reed, off the southern coast of the island, and oil from it has spread over reefs and beaches along the southern tip of the island, as well as spreading across the Caribbean Sea towards Grenada and Venezuela.

An aerial image of the capsized barge. Office of the Chief Secretary of Tobago.

The barge appears to have been an unmanned and unpowered vessel, and has the word 'Gulfstream' painted on its side. As an unmanned, unpowered vessel it would not have been required to register with the International Maritime Organization, nor to carry an Automatic Identification System tracker, although it would have been partnered with a manned tugboat, which should (in theory) have complied with both of these requirements.

Before and after satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission show the scale of the oil spill that occurred off the shores of Trinidad and Tobago’s coastline earlier this week. The vessel, identified as the Gulfstream, ran aground and overturned off the southern shores of Tobago Island. The final image of the animation, captured at 10.18 pm GMT on 14 February, shows the oil spill has travelled over 160 km westwards. The spill is moving out of Trinidad and Tobago’s marine area and into Grenada’s southernmost marine area – which could affect neighbouring Venezuela. Satellite radar is particularly useful for monitoring the progression of oil spills because the presence of oil on the sea surface dampens down wave motion. Since radar basically measures surface texture, oil slicks show up well – as black smears on a grey background. European Space Agency.

An investigation by the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard found that a barge identified as the Gulfstream left Panama en route for Guyana coupled to a tug called the Solo Creed on 12 January 2024, and that authorities in Guyana reported that neither vessel arrived there. The Solo Creed, identified by the Vessel Finder website as a Tanzanian registered towing vessel, which visited Aruba on 20 January, and was last detected off the coast of Venezuela on 4 February.

An image of the capsized barge on 10 February 2023. Tobago House Assembly/AFP.

The Bellingcat investigative agency has identified a double-hulled barge capable of carrying 60 000 barrels of oil (i.e. 9.5 million litres) called the Gulfstream which was coupled to a tugboat called the Marlin, operating within the United States until 2012, which appears to be a good physical match for the vessel off the coast of Tobago. The Marlin was sold to the Panamanian San Martin Group in 2014, and while there are no official records of the Gulfstream after this, Bellingcat has found photographic evidence of the two vessels operating together between Panama and Venezuela between 2015 and 2020. The Marlin was sold on to another Panamanian company, Star Goods Petroleum, in 2021, and has not transmitted its position since. The Gulfstream was observed in the Astinave shipyard in Ecuador in February 2022, but has not been sighted since. Bellingcat suspect that the renamed Marlin and Gulfstream may still be operating together, as part of a 'ghost fleet' carrying embargoed Iranian oil to Venezuela. Many oil-carrying vessels operating out of Venezuela are considered to be poorly maintained to the point of being dangerous, and the Marlin and Gulfstream, if still operating together, would be 60- and 58-years-old respectively; both vessels would have been built with a planned lifetime of 30 years.

Oil spills are potentially harmful to marine life in a variety of ways. Most obviously it can coat the outside of organisms, causing damage to external structures such as the feathers of Birds and fur of Mammals, as well as smothering many marine invertebrates and plants. It also contains a variety of chemicals which can be directly toxic upset the hormonal balance of many animals. Oil also impedes the feeding of marine organisms, coating both food and feeding organs, but provides an excellent food source for Bacteria, which can lead to Eutrophication events - dramatic increases in Bacteria numbers, which then use all the oxygen in the water, leading other organisms to asphyxiate.

Workers from state own Heritage Petroleum Oil and Gas Company, the state oil company of Trinidad and Tobago, clean up an oil spill that reached Rockly Bay beach, in Scarborough, south western Tobago. Akash Boodan/AP.

Many fishermen on the southern part of Tobago are reporting vessels and equipment damaged by exposure to oil, and beaches across the southern part of the island being forced to close to tourists at the height of the tourist season. Volunteers and local specialists have recovered about 2000 barrels of oil from beaches on Tobago, but the vessel is still leaking and will probably need to be emptied of oil before it can be refloated and the damage repaired.

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Hottentotta pooyani: A new species of Scorpion from Khuzestan Province, Iran.

Iran has a large and diverse Scorpion fauna, influenced by its position at the crossroads of Anatolia, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia. The genus Hottentotta is thought to be of African origin, but has spread to the Middle East, Anatolia, and South Asia. Of the 68 species of Scorpions recorded from Iran, ten belong to the genus Hottentotta, including eight of the 41 species entirely endemic to the country.

In a paper published in the Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum on 20 December 2022, Mohammed Moradi of the Department of Biology at the University of Zanjan, Ersan Aydın Yağmur of the Alaşehir Vocational School at Manisa Celal Bayar University, and Abolfazl Akbari of the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, describe a new species of Hottentotta from Khuzestan Province, Iran.

The new species is named Hottentotta pooyani, in honour of Pooyan Moradi, the son of Mohammed Moradi. It is described from two female specimens, both collected in Khuzestan Province; the males are unknown.

Hottentotta pooyani, female holotype; (A) Dorsal view, (B) Ventral view. Scale bar is 10 mm. Moradi et al. (2022).

Hottentotta pooyani is a medium sized Scorpion, with the two known specimens measuring 61.43 and 64.71 mm in length; this is fairly typical for members of the genus Hottentotta, but smaller than most Iranian members of the group. It is pale yellow in colour, with darker yellow markings around the eyes, and has a smooth carapace with sparse hairs. The pedipalps (pincers) are long and slender,

Hottentotta pooyani appears to be more similar, and therefore is probably more closely related to members of the genus found in Arabia than to those of the Iranian interior, something observed in several other Scorpions found in Khuzestan Province. Moradi et al. suggest that this endemism may be shared with the neighbouring Basra Province in Iraq, with the two provinces being isolated from the rest of their countries by climatic differences and the broad lower reaches of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

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Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake in Hormozgan Province, Iran.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.7 Earthquake at a depth of 4.7 km roughly 49 km to the northeast of the port of Bandar-e Lengeh in Hormozgan Province, Iran, slightly after 6.45 pm local time (slightly after 3.15 pm GMT) on Wednesday 30 November 2022. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but many people in the United Arab Emirates reported feeling it.

The location of the 30 November 2022 Hormozgan Province Earthquake. USGS.

Iran is situated on the southern margin of the Eurasian Plate. Immediately to the south lies the Arabian Plate, which is being pushed northward by the impact of Africa from the south. This has created a zone of faulting and fold mountains along the southwest coast of the country, known as the Zagros Thrust Belt, while to the northeast of this the geology is dominated by three large tectonic blocks, the Central Iran, Lut and Helmand, which move separately in response to pressure from the south, stretching and compressing the rock layers close to the surface and creating frequent Earthquakes, some of which can be very large.

The movement of the Arabian Plate and extent of the Zagros Thrust Belt. Rasoul Sorkhabi/Geo ExPro.

The population of Iran is particularly at risk from Earthquakes as, unlike most other Earthquake-prone nations, very few buildings in the country are quake-resistant. The majority of residential buildings in Iran are made of mud-brick, a building material particularly vulnerable to Earthquakes as the bricks often liquefy, trapping people inside and quickly asphyxiating them with dust. This is particularly dangerous at night when the majority of people are inside sleeping.

Section through the Zagros Fold Belt. Sarkarinejad & Azizi (2007).

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