Iran Demands Trillions of Dollars in Compensation: "Who Will Pay for the Damage to the Persian Gulf?"

Iran claims that the environmental damage caused over the years to the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz area amounts to trillions of dollars, and demands that the issue of compensation and environmental restoration be included in any future agreement regarding the management of the strait. These remarks were published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, following an oil spill that reached the shores of Qeshm Island in southern Iran in recent days.

Baghaei stated that according to preliminary findings, the source of the current pollution is likely a foreign commercial vessel, and that oil slicks were documented in three coastal areas and parts of the sea. According to him, this is just one example of cumulative environmental damage caused over decades of commercial and military activity in the region. He claimed that visible and hidden pollution have damaged the marine ecosystem and caused "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 coastline and about 90,000 square meters of adjacent water. 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 10 centimeters, and in shallow marine areas up to about 30 centimeters.

Baghaei questioned who would bear the costs of restoration: the countries consuming the energy exported from the Gulf, the insurance companies of the vessels, or the countries that, according to him, turned the region into a theater of military activity. He emphasized that Iran demands that the restoration of the ecosystem of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Gulf of Oman become part of any future mechanism for managing shipping lanes in the region.

Head of the Iranian Department of Environment, Shina Ansari, also claimed that the current pollution is part of the consequences of military activity in the region. However, according to Iranian reports, the exact source of the oil slick has not yet been definitively proven, and the collection of samples and examination of vessel traffic data are ongoing.