Iran said one crew member was killed after a Ukrainian attack on its merchant ship in the Caspian Sea and urged the European Union (EU) to hold Ukraine responsible.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 25th (local time), Iran's Foreign Ministry said an explosion occurred on an Iranian merchant ship after a Ukrainian attack in the Caspian Sea early that morning, killing one crew member and injuring another. It added, "Iran will not hesitate to defend itself."
Ukraine also acknowledged that it attacked an Iran-linked vessel in the Caspian Sea. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X (formerly Twitter) that "in the Caspian Sea, we struck ships used to transport Russian warships and Iran-related military cargo."
Iran's Foreign Ministry urged that if European countries truly fear an escalation of conflict in the Middle East, they must hold Ukraine accountable. Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call with EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, stressed that the United Nations Security Council and the EU must respond firmly to the attack.
The United States and Iran have engaged in armed clashes for weeks. With the countries' cease-fire memorandum of understanding (MOU) effectively nullified, Iran also said that day it would not intervene in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine has long accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia.
Zelensky also claimed on X that Russia is supporting Iran's missile attacks in the Gulf region. He said, "Since early July, we have confirmed that Russia has been actively surveilling Gulf countries and local U.S. military facilities by satellite," adding, "There is a clear correlation between Russian satellite imaging and Iran's attacks."
Ukraine's latest attack on an Iranian vessel came as Iran struggled with trade via its southern seas under a U.S. blockade. The Caspian Sea in northern Iran is a key hub where Iran imports supplies from littoral states and receives Chinese goods entering via Central Asia.
Reuters, noting that Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels attacked Saudi Arabia's oil facilities on the Red Sea coast, reported that "the Iran war shows signs of spreading to the Red Sea and the Caspian Sea."