On July 26, local time, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi posted on social media, saying, “(Ukrainian President) Zelensky attacked an Iranian merchant ship,” resulting in the death of one crew member. He called this a blatant violation of the UN Charter, carried out under Israeli orders, with the aim of dragging Europe into war.
Araghchi stated that in phone calls with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kallas, and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, he made it clear that the actions of “that freeloader in Kyiv” “will certainly not go unanswered.”
On the same day, the chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Ebrahim Azizi, posted on social media, saying that any attack on Iran comes with consequences. That’s still true today, and both the US and Israel are well aware of it. “Ukraine might soon understand that Iran will not sit idly by. The list of those who misjudge this is growing.”
In the early hours of the 25th, Ukrainian forces attacked an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea, causing an explosion. The attack killed one crew member and injured another.
Zelensky posted on social media, claiming that Ukraine’s “long-range strike in the Caspian Sea achieved very powerful results, including hitting ships used to transport Iranian military cargo, as well as a warship.”
In response, Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attack, stating that Ukraine “must bear responsibility,” and that Iran has the right to take retaliatory measures for the Ukrainian attack.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also summoned the Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Tehran over the incident.