Caspian Sea Heats Up, Iran Threatens to Retaliate Against Ukraine

Iran has threatened to retaliate after one of its merchant ships was attacked in the Caspian Sea on Saturday (25/7). Tehran accuses Ukraine of being behind the strike, which killed one sailor and injured another. The Iranian government has stressed it will not let the incident go unanswered. According to a report from the official IRNA news agency, the Foreign Ministry stated the attack caused the ship to explode, resulting in the death of a sailor and injuries to another. The accusation follows a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Kyiv had launched a long-range attack in the Caspian Sea against vessels involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran. The statement marks a widening of the international dimensions of the Russia-Ukraine war. Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Tehran on Saturday to protest the ‘hostile and criminal’ action. In a conversation with EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also called for a firm response from the European Union and the United Nations Security Council to the attack.