Illustrative: A serviceman of Ukraine's defense intelligence prepares an An-196 Liutyi (Fierce) one-way drone against Russia in an undisclosed location in Ukraine late on May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Iran’s FM claims Ukraine struck Iranian vessel ‘at Israel’s behest,’ vows retaliation

Araghchi says ‘freeloader’ Zelensky violated UN Charter with deadly attack in Caspian, which Ukrainian president said targeted Iran-linked military cargo

by · The Times of Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday vowed to respond against Ukraine for a deadly attack in the Caspian Sea that the minister claimed was carried out “at Israel’s behest.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has faced swarms of Iranian-designed drones since Russia invaded it in 2022, said on Saturday that Kyiv struck “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran” in the Caspian Sea.

Channel 12 later reported that the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel informed it that the vessels were transporting Iranian weapons to Russia to aid it in its war on Ukraine.

Iran’s foreign ministry said the “hostile and criminal” attack caused the ship “to explode, killing one sailor and injuring several others.” The Islamic Republic “has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the ministry added.

According to state media, the ministry also summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to convey its protest of the attack.

Araghchi, in a post on X, said the “freeloader” Zelensky had “attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.” The minister offered no evidence for the allegation against Israel.

The Iranian foreign minister added that, in calls with his EU counterpart Kaja Kallas and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, the Iranian foreign minister “made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Lavrov, in a statement posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, offered condolences to Iran and said Araghchi had, during their call, thanked local authorities in the Russian region of Astrakhan, from which the vessel set out, for helping the crew.

Araghchi also “stressed the need to put an end to such adventures by the Kyiv regime,” and informed Lavrov of “continuing diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalating tension in the Middle East,” the Russian foreign minister said.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters Sunday that the Islamic Republic would halt its attacks across the region as long as the US also withheld its fire.

The US has halted attacks on Iran for two straight nights so far, following 13 straight nights of attacks on the Islamic Republic, the largest reigniting of the regional conflict since an April ceasefire.

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 24, 2026, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) shakes hands with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi before their talks on the sidelines of the Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States in Cholpon-Ata, northeastern Kyrgyzstan. (Handout/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP)

The US and Israel had on February 28 launched a joint bombing campaign on the Islamic Republic in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes across the region and by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.

Kyiv has offered Middle East countries affected by Iran’s attacks its war-won experience in shooting down Iranian drones. Zelensky has also accused Russia of providing Iran with satellite reconnaissance capabilities that helped Tehran target US bases in the region during the war.