What happened

Satellite imagery acquired on 10 August and analysed by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health mapped approximately 100 square kilometres of oil-contaminated water around Qeshm and Hengam islands at the boundary of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Dark oily residue reached Qeshm's southern shoreline and was reported inside the Hara mangrove ecosystem. The damaged Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer, struck near the Strait of Hormuz on 3 August, is considered the likely source of at least part of the pollution based on satellite and vessel-tracking analysis. That source link is retained as likely rather than conclusive: the IMO lists pollution from Minoan Pioneer as unconfirmed, and no completed official investigation or measured release volume was available. Iran reported that cleanup had largely removed visible shoreline oil by 12–13 August, but monitoring continued. The ecological exposure includes coral reefs, tidal flats, fish nursery habitat, migratory birds, green turtles and critically endangered hawksbill turtles; oil retained in fine mangrove sediment and root systems can persist after the surface slick is no longer visible. The marker represents the polluted Qeshm–Hengam coastal area rather than the vessel's precise attack location.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.