Tehran threatens Zelensky with retaliation for strike on Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea

Iran has threatened Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with retaliatory measures following a strike on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea that killed a sailor.

The threat was made by the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on his social media page.

“Zelensky attacked an Iranian merchant vessel, killing a sailor. This is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, carried out on Israel’s orders to drag Europe into its war,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

According to Araghchi, during talks with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he made clear that the actions of the “parasite from Kyiv” cannot go unanswered.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires and handed him a note of protest over the strike on the merchant vessel. During the meeting, the Iranian side stated that it would not leave “encroachments on the lives and property of its citizens” unanswered.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously confirmed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had struck ships delivering cargo from Iran to Russia.

Earlier, an AI-generated video depicting strikes on Ukraine was published in Iran — in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.