Iran has suffered trillions of dollars in financial and environmental damage from recurring oil spills across the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Esmaeil Baghaei.
Writing on the social media platform X, Baghaei said that oil contamination across southern Iranian coastal areas has inflicted immense harm on regional marine ecosystems over the past several decades.
His comments follow the emergence of footage online showing recent oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island. Dark traces characteristic of crude oil spills were documented across three separate sections of the island's coastline as well as on sections of the adjacent sea surface. Iranian authorities indicated that a foreign dry cargo vessel may have been the source of the discharge.
Environmental Damage Across Regional Waterways
Baghaei noted that the incident on Qeshm Island is far from the first pollution event recorded in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. He lamented that frequent oil spills cause colossal environmental damage, disrupting fragile ocean habitats and inflicting long term losses on Iran's coastal zones.
The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman serve as critical international maritime arteries connecting energy exporters in the Middle East with global markets. Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, sits near the narrow Strait of Hormuz, placing its coastal waters directly adjacent to major commercial shipping traffic and oil transport lanes.
Tanker Grounding and Wildlife Sanctuary Contamination
The foreign ministry highlighted broader ecological threats across regional waters, including a major maritime disaster involving the tanker Caroline Bezengi. The vessel, which was carrying approximately 800,000 barrels of crude oil, ran aground off the coast of Oman in late June.
The grounding resulted in a massive crude leak that created an oil slick expanding to nearly 800 square kilometers across the sea surface. The pollution subsequently reached the protected grounds of the Arabian Marine Reserve, an ecologically sensitive sanctuary that provides habitat for endangered wild animals.
Oman, situated on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, shares the Gulf of Oman with Iran. Environmental incidents in these shared waters threaten protected biodiversity reserves, marine fauna, and coastal ecosystems across the entire regional maritime basin.
