Following reports of oil pollution reaching the shores of Qeshm Island and the Hara mangrove forests in Hormozgan province, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the slick drifted toward the coastline from the Persian Gulf, stating that “preliminary evidence indicates the source was a foreign bulk carrier.”
These remarks come as no official within the Islamic Republic has released a formal investigative report identifying the origin of the oil pollution along Qeshm’s southern coast.
On Wednesday evening, August 12, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei noted that “pollution has been reported at three coastal locations and sections of the sea surface.” Linking the incident to maritime traffic management in the Strait of Hormoz, he added: “All parties benefiting from commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormoz bear a legal and moral responsibility to remediate environmental damage inflicted on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.”
Local sources on Wednesday posted videos and photographs showing oil slicks penetrating the Hara mangrove forests near Naqasheh village on Qeshm’s southern coast.
Despite the spokesperson’s claims, the Head of the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Department on Qeshm Island deferred declaring the exact source of the oil slick until “expert evaluations are completed and reports from responsible agencies are finalized.”
