Tehran reported at least one sailor was killed and another injured in a strike on a cargo ship in the Caspian Sea. Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires over the incident.

In a recent post on social media, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky boasted about “very strong results” from long-range strikes targeting vessels used for military cargo shipments involving Iran and a warship. Iranian authorities have condemned these actions as reckless and dangerous.

Iran’s foreign ministry stated that the attack “risks further fueling and expanding the flames of war.” The ministry urged other nations to take a “responsible stance toward this reckless action by the Ukrainian regime” and hold its leadership accountable. It warned, “The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to protect its national interests and security.”

The ministry also affirmed that “Iran 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 that 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, known as the LUCAS, which it used during a recent conflict with Iran.

Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that he would direct Ukraine’s intelligence agencies to share information about Russia’s alleged assistance to the Iranian regime with partner countries.

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 a recent U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The Ukrainian leadership claims to have secured agreements with Gulf states for specialists and technology to counter Iranian drones, hoping to obtain additional air defense systems and munitions.

According to Zelensky, over 200 Ukrainian military personnel have been deployed to the Middle East under these agreements. A report indicated that a depot housing this force in Dubai was struck by an Iranian missile during initial hostilities, causing casualties and equipment losses. However, Kyiv has denied the incident occurred.