Gulf War Pollution Reaches Trillion-Dollar Scale

An oil spill has reached Iran's Qeshm Island and another, larger spill from a stricken Russian tanker is fouling Oman's southern coastline. The spills are an environmental fallout of the war in the Gulf.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said preliminary evidence pointed to a foreign bulk carrier as the source and called for compensation from those responsible. 'Restoring the marine ecosystem of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and preventing further pollution, must be part of any future management arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz,' Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said.

Baghaei said the incident was 'only one example' of decades of pollution, claiming it caused 'trillion-dollar damage to Iran’s coastal areas.' The Iranian government is calling on parties that benefit from commercial shipping in this waterway to address the environmental damage.