(Adnkronos) – Iran has reported environmental damage in the Strait of Hormuz after an oil slick reached the southern coasts of Qeshm Island, demanding compensation from those responsible. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that the spill has “degraded the waters” of the Gulf and the Sea of Oman and that “preliminary evidence points to a foreign bulk carrier as the source” of the pollution. According to Tanker Trackers, however, the leak was caused by the Iranian attack on August 3 in Omani waters against the bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer, from which the oil then moved through the strait to the Iranian coasts.
Baghaei wrote on X that such incidents have “caused thousands of dollars in damage to Iran’s coastal areas in recent decades”. “Any party benefiting from commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has a legal and moral obligation to remedy the environmental damage caused,” he added. According to Habib Masihi, head of environmental protection for Hormozgan province, the slick affected about 32,000 square meters of coastline and 90,000 square meters of sea, but by yesterday evening it had been “almost completely cleaned up”.
