Earlier in the day, Kiev claimed to have struck “military cargo shipments involving Iran” in the Caspian Sea
Iran has condemned a Ukrainian strike on a cargo ship in the Caspian Sea that killed one sailor and injured another.
In a post on X on Saturday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky boasted about what he called “very strong results” from long-range strikes targeting “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying it “risks further fueling and expanding the flames of war.” It urged other nations to take a “responsible stance toward this reckless action by the Ukrainian regime” and hold its leadership accountable.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to protect its national interests and security,” the ministry warned.
The ministry also said that “Iran has never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed in 2022 that Tehran had delivered a “small number” of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones to Russia months before the Ukraine conflict began in February that year. Moscow has insisted that all Geran-2 drones, believed to be based on the Shahed-136 design, are produced domestically.
The US has developed its own version of the Iranian Shahed-136, the LUCAS, which it used during the war with Iran.
Kiev has actively tried to become involved in the Middle East conflict triggered by the US-Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year. The Ukrainian leadership has claimed to have secured deals with Gulf states to provide them with specialists and technology to counter Iranian drones and is hoping to secure additional anti-aircraft systems and munitions in exchange.
More than 200 Ukrainian military experts have been deployed to the Middle East under the deals, according to Zelensky. Ultimately, the group reportedly sustained personnel casualties and equipment damage in an Iranian strike on a depot in Dubai during the first wave of active hostilities in the region. Kiev has denied the incident took place.
