Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has issued an official appeal to the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) to condemn the military attack on an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea. The Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry described the incident as a “criminal act” and directly blamed Ukraine for the attack, the world news agency Al Jazeera (aljazeera.com) reported.
Escalation in the Caspian Sea and casualties
Diplomatic pressure from Abbas Araghchi
In an urgent phone call with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaya Kallas, Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi urged an immediate international response. Tehran is demanding that the UN Security Council and European partners hold the perpetrators and their supporters accountable, the Global Times (globaltimes.cn) reported. According to the Iranian side, the attack constitutes a gross violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and threatens international security.
Ukraine's position and the context of the strikes
Hours before Iran's diplomatic reaction, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on social networks that Kiev's forces had achieved “very strong results“ with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea. According to the Ukrainian leadership, the targets were ships carrying military cargo to Russia, reports the Bulgarian National Radio (bnrnews.bg). The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) added that vessels that circumvent international sanctions were being attacked, writes the Kyiv Independent (kyivindependent.com).
For its part, the Iranian Foreign Ministry once again declared that Tehran maintains neutrality and has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Officials in Iran have warned that such "adventurous actions" by Kiev could dangerously widen the scope of the war.