Iran blames US military for Gulf oil spill pollution

Iran's foreign ministry blamed pollution in Gulf waters on US military operations in the region after several oil spills were reported, and called for the United States to be held accountable.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news briefing Monday that environmental damage stemmed from the US military presence and wars it had waged in the region over the past five decades. He estimated the damage at "trillions of dollars".

Last week, Iran called for compensation after an oil slick in the Strait of Hormuz reached Qeshm Island, affecting beaches and an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest. Baqaei then cited preliminary evidence identifying "a foreign bulk carrier" as the source of the spill, while Iranian officials later said it had been completely cleaned up.

Habib Masihi, head of the environmental protection department in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, previously said about 32,000 square metres of coastal area and 90,000 square metres of water had been affected.

Omani state media also reported that an oil slick from a tanker that ran aground off Oman had reached the coastline. AFP previously found that the vessel had been stranded for weeks near Oman's Al-Qibliyyah island after it was damaged by explosions.

TankerTrackers, a US-hosted website that monitors shipping movements, previously said the Qeshm spill seemed to come from what it described as an Iranian attack on the bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer in Omani waters on August 3. Iran has not named the vessel it says preliminary evidence linked to the spill.