Iran accuses Ukraine of deadly strike on commercial vessel, warns it ‘cannot go unanswered’

Iran has accused Ukraine of striking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and injuring another, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning that the attack “cannot go unanswered”.

The development now opens a new front in the West Asia war.

“Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor,” Araghchi wrote on X, calling the strike a “blatant UN Charter violation” allegedly carried out at Israel’s behest to draw Europe into the West Asia war.
Araghchi said he conveyed to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Kyiv’s action “cannot go unanswered”.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires over the incident, describing it as an act of aggression and warning that Tehran would defend its national interests and security, Reuters reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian warship and vessels used to transport Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea. Kyiv has not publicly confirmed that the vessel that Tehran said was a civilian commercial ship.

The Iranian vessel was travelling from Russia’s Astrakhan port to Iran’s Anzali port when its bridge was destroyed, according to Iranian media.