Iranian authorities have stepped up threats against Kiev following this weekend’s attack on Iranian ships by Ukraine in the Caspian Sea, where much of the country’s trade with Russia takes place.
Iran’s regional governor Hadi Hag Shehnas announced on Sunday that three crew members were injured and one sailor was killed on the ship.
The ship was carrying a cargo of iron and was sailing from the port of Astrakhan to the port of Anzali, a “safe and reliable corridor for commercial exchanges between the two ports,” Hagshenas said.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of national security in Iran’s parliament, said of X: “Attacks against Iran always have a price, and that still remains the case. The United States and Israel are well aware of this,” adding, “Ukraine may soon come to understand that Iran will not stand by.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi also slammed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
“President Zelenskiy attacked an Iranian merchant ship, killing a sailor. A blatant violation of the United Nations Charter, carried out on Israel’s orders to draw Europe into war,” X Sunday newspaper wrote. “The answer to what the Kiev freeloader did cannot be ignored.”
Background: Ukraine said Saturday it had attacked a ship in its waterway transporting military supplies from Iran to Russia.
In a post on X, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had “achieved very good results in long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea.”
“Specifically, this includes not only warships, but also ships involved in transporting military cargo from Iran,” Zelenskiy said.
Iranian officials said the United States also recently attacked facilities in the Caspian Sea. Gilan province has announced airstrikes against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval forces.
