Iran Says Future Administration Of Strait Of Hormuz Must Address Its Environmental Condition

TEHRAN, Aug 13 (Bernama-IRNA) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the environmental condition of the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters must be treated as a core requirement in any future management framework for the strait, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

In a post on his X account on Thursday, Baqaei explained the need to include environmental considerations in any future administration of the Strait of Hormuz.

He referred to recent videos showing oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island, saying, “In recent days, videos have circulated showing oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island. This pollution drifted toward the coast from the Persian Gulf, and preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source. Contamination has been documented at three coastal sites and across portions of the sea surface.”

“This incident is only one visible example of the extensive pollution – both overt and concealed – that has degraded the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as well as the region’s marine ecosystem, over recent decades, imposing trillions of dollars in damage on Iran’s coastal areas,” Baqaei said.

He questioned who should be responsible for compensating the damages, asking whether the burden should fall on countries consuming the region's inexpensive energy exports, shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who had turned the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theatre of military operations and testing grounds for highly destructive weapons.

“As the country with the longest coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iran cannot remain indifferent. Every 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 upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman,” he said.

-- BERNAMA-IRNA