Tehran accuses Ukraine of striking Iranian ship on Israel’s behalf

Iran threatens to retaliate against Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of striking an Iranian vessel at Israel’s “behest.”

By World Israel News Staff

Iran threatened to retaliate against Ukraine after a Ukrainian strike hit an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and injuring another, according to Iranian officials.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Kyiv of carrying out the attack on Israel’s orders, although he provided no evidence connecting Israel to the operation.

“Zelensky has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor,” Araghchi wrote on X, calling the strike a “blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest.”

Araghchi said he discussed the incident in separate telephone calls with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

He said he had made clear that the attack “cannot go unanswered,” signaling that Tehran was considering some form of retaliation against Ukraine.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the vessel was struck early Saturday, causing an explosion aboard the ship. The ministry described the attack as an “act of aggression that could further inflame and expand the ongoing conflict.”

Tehran summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires to lodge a formal protest and warned that Iran “will not hesitate to defend its national interests and security.”

The Iranian government identified the targeted ship as a commercial vessel but did not name it or provide details about its cargo. Iran also maintained that it had never intervened in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine offered a sharply different account, saying its forces had targeted vessels involved in military shipments between Iran and Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces had achieved “very strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea,” including attacks on “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.”

Ukraine’s Security Service said the operation targeted cargo vessels under international sanctions that were being used to move military equipment between Russia and Iran.

The identity of the Iranian vessel, the precise nature of its cargo and the full extent of the damage could not immediately be independently confirmed.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel told Israel’s Channel 12 that the vessels had been transporting Iranian weapons to Russia for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Iran has previously acknowledged supplying Russia with a limited number of drones before the February 2022 invasion. Russia has since used thousands of Iran-designed Shahed attack drones against Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and military targets, although Moscow has also established domestic production of the weapons.

The Caspian Sea has become an increasingly important military and commercial route between Russia and Iran. Because neither country has direct maritime access to the other through open seas, the enclosed body of water provides a relatively protected corridor for shipping goods between Iranian and Russian ports.

Ukraine has expanded the range of its drone operations during the war, striking targets far inside Russia and attacking vessels and infrastructure used to support Moscow’s military campaign.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Lavrov offered condolences to Iran over the sailor’s death. According to Moscow, Araghchi thanked authorities in Russia’s Astrakhan region, where the vessel began its journey, for helping the crew.

The Russian account said Araghchi also called for an end to what he described as military “adventures by the Kyiv regime.”

The incident comes as Ukraine has accused Moscow and Tehran of deepening their military cooperation beyond the war in Eastern Europe.

Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence had recorded Russian satellites observing military facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait before information from those observations appeared in Iran.

“There is a clear correlation” between Russian surveillance of the sites and subsequent Iranian attacks, Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine would share its intelligence with its allies.

Iranian officials did not specify when, where or how they intended to respond.