Iran: Pollution damage in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf estimated in the trillions of dollars

Iran demands that the issue of compensation and environmental rehabilitation be included in any future arrangement for managing the Strait of Hormuz, following an oil spill that reached the shores of Qeshm Island. Baqaei, an Iranian official, said the source of the pollution is likely a foreign commercial vessel, and oil slicks were documented in three coastal areas. He claimed cumulative damage has been caused over decades, amounting to trillions of dollars.

Iran is demanding that the issue of compensation and environmental rehabilitation be included in any future arrangement concerning the management of the Strait of Hormuz, following an oil spill that reached the shores of Qeshm Island. This was stated by Baqaei, an Iranian official, quoted in the report. According to him, based on preliminary findings, the source of the current pollution is likely a foreign commercial vessel, and oil slicks were documented in three coastal areas and parts of the sea. He claimed this is one example of cumulative environmental damage caused over decades by commercial and military activity in the region, and that visible and hidden pollution has harmed the marine ecosystem, causing "trillions of dollars in damage" to Iran's coastal areas. Data published in Iran indicate that the latest pollution affected about 32,000 square meters of Qeshm's beaches and an additional 90,000 square meters of adjacent waters. The oil slicks also reached mangrove forests in the area and beaches used as nesting sites for sea turtles. On some beaches, the substances penetrated to a depth of about ten centimeters, and in shallow marine areas up to about 30 centimeters. Baqaei wondered who would bear the rehabilitation costs: countries consuming energy exported from the Gulf, insurance companies of the vessels, or countries that, in his words, turned the area into a military arena. He emphasized that Iran demands that the rehabilitation of the ecosystem of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman become part of any future mechanism for managing shipping routes in the area.