The stunning underwater world that’s at risk as the Iran war drags on | CNN

Not far from the vessels stuck in the Persian Gulf lies an ecological wonder. The highly contested Strait of Hormuz is home to dolphins and the most diverse coral population in the region, an underwater world that scientists say could be in jeopardy as conflict swirls around it. Despite Iran announcing a reopening of the strait during a temporary ceasefire, about 2,000 vessels remain trapped in the Gulf as of Friday morning, carrying a total of around 21 billion liters of oil. There have been at least 16 attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz since the war broke out. Nina Noelle, a spokesperson from Greenpeace, an independent global campaigning network that focuses on environmental issues, told CNN that through continuous monitoring, the group’s researchers “regularly detect oil slicks in the region,” including one linked to the Iranian vessel Shahid Bagheri that was struck by a US warplane in early March. According to the organization, the vessel is still leaking oil “near the Khuran Strait and poses a potential risk to nearby protected wetlands.” The Khuran Strait is a narrower passageway that runs north of the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of