Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said environmental protection of the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters must be an integral part of any future arrangements governing the strategic waterway.

Axar.az reports that Baqaei stated on his X account that videos circulating in recent days showed oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island, with preliminary evidence indicating that a foreign bulk carrier was the source.

He said contamination had been documented at three coastal sites and across parts 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 bear responsibility for compensating the environmental damage, including countries benefiting from energy exports from the region, shipping insurers, and parties involved in military operations in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

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

“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 added.