Hardline editor urges Iran negotiators to leave talks to humiliate Trump

What was once an occasional discovery has turned into a recurring pattern. Seal carcasses continue to wash ashore across the Caspian coastline, prompting authorities and environmental organizations to record the losses while searching for answers.

Researchers increasingly view the deaths as the result of multiple pressures rather than a single cause. Climate change, declining water levels, industrial pollution, overfishing, accidental entanglement in fishing nets and the possible spread of disease have all been cited as contributing factors.

The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is the only marine mammal native to the Caspian Sea and one of the region's most distinctive species. Found nowhere else in the world, it plays a key role in maintaining ecological balance by feeding on small fish and other aquatic organisms.

Environmental experts regard the species as an indicator of the sea's overall health. A decline in seal numbers can point to broader problems, including pollution, shrinking fish stocks and disruption of the marine food chain.

The species is also part of the shared natural heritage of the five countries bordering the Caspian Sea — Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its survival is closely linked to the environmental future of a region where millions depend on fishing, tourism and coastal industries.

Deaths across the Caspian

The crisis attracted international attention in 2022 when around 2,500 dead Caspian seals were found along Russia's Dagestan coast in one of the largest recorded die-offs involving the species.

Scientists examined a range of possible causes, including disease outbreaks, oxygen depletion, environmental contamination and natural gas emissions from the seabed. No definitive explanation emerged.

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The event was not isolated. Hundreds of dead seals had previously been recorded along the Dagestan coastline, suggesting that large-scale mortality events are becoming a recurring feature of the Caspian ecosystem.

Researchers also point to climate change as a growing threat. Caspian seals rely on ice in the northern part of the sea to breed and raise their pups. Rising temperatures and shrinking winter ice cover have reduced the availability of suitable breeding habitat, placing additional pressure on an already vulnerable population.

Population in decline

Conservation estimates indicate the Caspian seal population has fallen by more than 90 percent over the past century. Once numbering above one million animals, the population is now believed to have dropped below 100,000.

The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, reflecting concerns about its long-term survival.

Amir Sayad Shirazi, director of Iran's Caspian Seal Conservation Center, told Shargh that pollution remains one of the most significant threats facing the species.

Because the Caspian Sea is shared by five countries and functions as a closed body of water, environmental damage in one area can affect the wider ecosystem, he said.

Russia halted commercial hunting of Caspian seals in 2020, eliminating one source of mortality that had previously resulted in thousands of deaths annually. Yet unexplained die-offs continue to undermine conservation efforts.

For conservationists, the fate of the seal increasingly mirrors the condition of the sea itself, making its survival a test of whether the region can protect one of its most distinctive ecosystems.

Sellers of Iranian crude to China have cut prices after Iran began shipping millions of barrels out of Hormuz following an interim peace deal with the United States, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Spot cargoes of Iranian Light crude for July arrival were being offered at discounts of $2.50 to $5 a barrel to Brent benchmark prices, the report said, citing people directly involved in the trade.

That compared with a discount of about $1 a barrel before the deal.

Iran has increased the amount of crude it openly sends through the Strait of Hormuz to the highest level since the war began, as regional shipping activity picked up while Tehran and Washington worked toward a lasting peace deal, Bloomberg said in a separate report.

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Spot cargoes of Iranian Light crude for July arrival were being offered at discounts of $2.50 to $5 a barrel to Brent benchmark prices, the report said, citing people directly involved in the trade.

That compared with a discount of about $1 a barrel before the deal.

Iran has increased the amount of crude it openly sends through the Strait of Hormuz to the highest level since the war began, as regional shipping activity picked up while Tehran and Washington worked toward a lasting peace deal, Bloomberg said in a separate report.

Around six million barrels of Iranian crude were aboard three US-sanctioned supertankers - Elva, Virgo and Vigor - that entered the chokepoint early Monday, it said, citing ship-tracking data.

The vessels were signaling destinations in waters off Singapore, where Iranian crude is known to be transferred to ships that often deliver the oil to refineries in China, it added.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Monday that the Islamic Republic is the “big brother” of countries in the region and would continue to support its smaller neighbors despite what he described as hostile actions by some states.

“Iran is the big brother of the countries in the region, although some of them attacked us and treated us unfairly,” Aref said during the opening ceremony of the Tehran Stock Exchange.

Referring to Iran’s warnings to neighboring countries during recent hostilities, Aref said Tehran had made clear that any facilities used by the United States against Iran could become targets.

“We officially told neighboring countries that if the slightest mistake by the United States originates from locations belonging to you, those locations will be our legitimate targets for defense,” Aref said.

Iran’s vice president also said that Iran’s adversaries had failed to bring people into the streets against the Islamic Republic during the two most recent wars.

“The enemy failed to exploit social capital and bring people into the streets against the system in either the 12-day war or the third war,” Mohammadreza Aref added.

An explosion and fire at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City injured 54 people and left 18 missing on Sunday during efforts to restart operations that had been halted after Iran bombed the site during the war.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said rescue teams were searching for the missing and described the explosion as a “technical accident,” adding that there was no threat to public safety.

QatarEnergy said the incident occurred during the start-up of operations at the Barzan local gas supply facility. Emergency response teams were deployed and the fire was brought under control, the company said.

Ras Laffan is one of Qatar’s most important energy hubs and a core site for the country’s liquefied natural gas industry.