Amid destruction and devastation in the wake of war, Iranians have found a rare glimmer of hope among one of the nation’s most endangered species. Iran has recorded a jump this year in its official number of Asiatic cheetahs, a subspecies, now found only in Iran, that has been on the brink of extinction for years. Last year, Iranian authorities were aware of just 17 wild cats. But in 2026, Bagher Nezami, the project manager for the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, told Iranian state media that conservationists had recorded 21 new adult cheetahs and six cubs. The Asiatic cheetah is one of the world’s fastest land animals. It has a smaller head, shorter legs and a stronger neck than the African cheetah. The Asiatic cheetahs used to roam the Arabian Peninsula, the lands around the Caspian Sea, and South Asia. Now, a species once favored by kings prowls only Iran’s eastern desert and is under constant threat from hunters, speeding highway drivers and wild dogs.…