Tehran is demanding compensation for pollution in waters in the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas over recent decades, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, writes CNN.

“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 on X.

On Wednesday, a thick oil slick washed up on a beach around Iran’s Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, according to video geolocated by CNN.

“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”, - said Baqaei.

“Who bears responsibility for compensating these damages? Is it the nations that consume the inexpensive energy exported from our region, the shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theater for military operations and the testing of highly destructive weaponry?” he added.

Separately, Oman’s Environment Authority is warning that an oil spill from a sanctioned tanker carrying Russian crude has now reached some beaches in Ras Madrakah in the southeast of the country.

CNN has previously reported on the potentially devastating environmental impacts of oil spills around the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.