Tensions between Iran and Ukraine have escalated after Tehran accused Kyiv of carrying out a deadly attack on one of its merchant vessels in the Caspian Sea, an incident that reportedly left one sailor dead and another injured.
The accusation followed claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukrainian forces had successfully carried out long-range strikes targeting vessels allegedly involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran and Russia.
According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the attack occurred on Saturday morning, causing an explosion aboard the merchant ship.
“The attack caused the ship to explode, killing one sailor and injuring another,” Iran said, according to the country’s official IRNA news agency.
Tehran insisted it has not taken part in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“The Islamic Republic has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the ministry stated.
Earlier on Saturday, President Zelensky announced that Ukraine had achieved what he described as significant success through long-range military operations in the Caspian Sea.
“Very strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea — including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) also said drone strikes targeted cargo vessels under international sanctions that were allegedly transporting military supplies between Iran and Russia.
In response, Iran summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it described as a “hostile and criminal act.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also discussed the incident with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, urging the European Union and the United Nations Security Council to give what he called a “firm response” to the attack.
The latest development adds another layer of tension to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with the conflict increasingly drawing in other countries through military, diplomatic and strategic disputes.
Source: AFP.
