Iran blames Ukraine for deadly attack on Caspian tanker | Articles of Controversy

Tehran has summoned Ukraine’s envoy over the attack, which it says killed one sailor and wounded another.

Tehran has accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian tanker in the Caspian Sea, leading to an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Ukrainian officials in Tehran to protest what it said were “dangerous and treasonous” on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.

The ministry said the attack was approved by the Ukrainian leadership and that it shows Kyiv’s continued “irrational and aggressive tactics” against Iran. It warned Iran that it will protect the country’s interests.

It also stated that the matter is a violation of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter and said it could escalate and escalate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, also discussed the issue by phone with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, his office said.

Araghchi strongly condemned the attack by the Ukrainian military on a ship in the Caspian Sea, and said that he “demanded a strong response from the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and the international community, and that those who violated these laws should be held accountable”, according to what he said on Telegram.

‘pressure’

“The Iranians are not happy with (the attack), as they are also facing the US blockade on the southern coast,” Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said in Tehran.

He explained that the attack on Iran’s northern coast will “put additional problems” on Iran’s maritime trade.

In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry reiterated that Tehran has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

This happened when the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in X messages that Kyiv had achieved “very strong results” with a long-term strike in the Caspian Sea, hitting “ships used to transport military cargo to Iran, as well as a warship.” He did not name the merchant ship Tehran as a target.

Zelenskyy separately said that Russia provided satellite images of Gulf countries and US military bases to Iran. He said surveillance on July 19 and 20 covered airbases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Iran and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since 2022, when Iran sold Russia Shahed drones that Moscow modified and deployed thousands of in Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv is said to have fired more than 44,000 of Iranian-made drones since the Russian invasion.

Ukraine has also provided drone interceptors and technology to Gulf governments defeated by Iran in the US-Iran war, sending anti-drone experts to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.