Oil spills in recent decades caused trillions of dollars in damage to Iran\u2019s coastal areas, says Baqaei
\n PARIS
\nIran warned on Thursday of environmental degradation in the Strait of Hormuz after an oil spill reached its southern Qeshm island, calling for compensation from those responsible. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the slick had \u201cdegraded the waters\u201d of the Gulf and Sea of Oman, claiming \u201cpreliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source\u201d.
\nTankerTrackers, a US-hosted website that monitors shipping movements worldwide, said however, that the spill seemed to derive from an Iranian attack on bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer in Omani waters on August 3. \u201cThe spillage then drifted across the strait over to Iran,\u201d it said. Baqaei wrote on X that such spills have in \u201crecent decades imposed trillions of dollars in damage on Iran\u2019s coastal areas\u201d, calling for compensation.
\n\u201cEvery party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted,\u201d he added.
\nThe spill had reached Qeshm island but had been \u201calmost completely cleaned up by Wednesday evening\u201d, said Habib Masihi, head of the environmental protection department in Iran\u2019s southern province of Hormozgan.
\nHe said about 32,000 square metres of coastal area had been affected along with waters covering 90,000 square metres.
\n\u201cThe oil pollution on the southern coast of Qeshm is just one example of the widespread pollution that has destroyed the region\u2019s marine ecosystem over the past few decades,\u201d added Sheena Ansari, the head of Iran\u2019s Environmental Protection Organisation.
\n\u201cWho is responsible for compensating for the damage? The countries consuming energy exports from our region or the aggressors who have made this region a staging ground for military operations?\u201d Ansari posted to X on Thursday.
\nIran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, blocking the passage of ships carrying energy exports from US-allied countries in the Gulf.
\nIt has said it plans to charge navigational fees from passing vessels to fund services including environmental protection.
\nThe United States and some regional countries have expressed opposition to any fees.
\nThe spill comes after another slick in recent days near neighbouring Oman from a tanker that ran aground.
\nAn AFP investigation previously found the ship had been stranded for weeks near Oman\u2019s Al-Qibliyyah island after it was damaged by explosions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oil spills in recent decades caused trillions of dollars in damage to Iran\u2019s coastal areas, says Baqaei PARIS Iran warned on Thursday of environmental degradation in the Strait of Hormuz after an oil spill reached its southern Qeshm island, calling for compensation from those responsible. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the slick had \u201cdegraded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n