Iran has threatened retaliation after a Ukrainian drone strike on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea killed one sailor and injured several others, according to Iranian officials.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the attack "cannot go unanswered." Tehran summoned Ukraine's charge d'affaires, calling the strike a hostile and criminal act.
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Iranian officials emphasized that Tehran has never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, warned that Ukraine may soon understand that Iran does not let actions go unanswered.
Azizi also stated that any attack on Iran comes with a cost, noting that the US and Israel are well aware of this.
He criticized the decision-making behind the strike.
Iranian diplomats have engaged with European and Russian counterparts to discuss regional security.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed solidarity with Tehran and called for an end to such adventures by the Kyiv regime.
Araghchi accused Israel of provoking the incident, claiming foreign elements are trying to drag Europe into the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defended the operation, saying strikes successfully disrupted enemy supply chains.
He confirmed long-range attacks targeted a plant in Kirov, an oil refinery in Tyumen, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg, a fuel depot in Rostov-on-Don, and vessels in the Caspian Sea used for military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.
Zelenskyy also alleged that Moscow supplies Tehran with military surveillance assets targeting Western installations, citing Russian satellite surveillance of Gulf states and US military facilities since July.
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The intensification of Ukrainian long-range attacks has disrupted commercial shipping, preventing tankers from loading oil from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal.
