Journalist Yossi Eliezer reports a large oil spill on Qeshm Island in southern Iran. The cause and extent of the spill are not yet clear.
Israeli journalist and Arab affairs analyst Yossi Eliezer reported a large oil spill on Qeshm Island in southern Iran this evening (Friday), publishing an image on the '301 Arab World' platform. The cause and extent of the spill are not yet clear.
The report follows a series of oil spills in the same area reported on Tuesday, August 11, which The Zioneer tracked through the day. At 15:42 Jerusalem, initial reports indicated oil from tankers Iran struck in the Strait of Hormuz was washing up on Iran's coastline. Within the same hour, security analyst Yair Goldblatt reported oil pollution reaching Kish Island, and additional reports described 'great environmental damage' near Qeshm Island. Iranian environmental teams were deployed with absorbent pads. By late Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei stated there was initial evidence that the spill originated from a foreign ship, though Goldblatt assessed it may have resulted from Iranian warning fire at vessels violating the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
Qeshm Island, a strategic landmass in the Strait of Hormuz, has been a focus of US military strikes in recent months, as The Zioneer reported in June and July. The island was also the site of a previous oil spill in mid-August that Tehran attributed to a foreign vessel.
The latest spill has not been officially confirmed by Iranian authorities, and it remains unclear whether it is linked to military activity or an industrial accident.
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