"Mr. Zelensky ordered an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel, resulting in the death of one sailor. This blatant violation of the United Nations Charter was carried out at Israel’s request to draw Europe into the war", Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media on 26/7, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The foreign minister stated that he raised this issue during a phone call with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "I made it clear to them that the actions of the operators in Kyiv will not be overlooked", he said.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the information.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking in Baghdad, Iraq, on 28/6. *Photo: AP*

This statement followed President Zelensky’s announcement one day earlier that Ukraine had achieved "very significant results" in a long-range attack in the Caspian Sea, targeting "vessels used for transporting Iran-related military cargo, as well as a warship".

However, Mr. Zelensky did not confirm whether the commercial vessel Iran mentioned was among the targets attacked.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry detailed that the incident occurred early on 25/7, causing an explosion on one of its cargo ships, resulting in the death of one sailor and injuries to several others. Iran asserted that it "has never been involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine", and had summoned Ukraine’s Charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it called a "hostile and criminal act".

Both Foreign Minister Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Lavrov condemned the attack during their phone call.

Mr. Araghchi labeled the incident a "dangerous adventurous act and a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter", emphasizing that Tehran would resolutely defend its national security and interests. Mr. Lavrov condemned the attack as "an act violating international law, threatening trade routes between Russia and Iran".

Tensions between Tehran and Kyiv have been ongoing since 2022, linked to Russia's use of Geran-2 suicide drones, based on the Iranian-developed Shahed-136 model, in Ukraine.

In response, Ukraine has offered to provide UAV interception systems and expertise to Gulf countries facing Iranian retaliation in the Middle East conflict, and deployed anti-UAV experts to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

*Source: Al Jazeera, Xinhua, Times of Israel*