ALBAWABA - Iran has returned the crew of a commercial cargo ship, purportedly hit by Ukraine, and the body of a sailor killed in the event, the latest phase in a conflict that has heightened tensions between Tehran and Kyiv.
Iranian officials said the vessel was apparently attacked in the Caspian Sea near the Volga River on July 26, killing one crew member and injuring several others, and damaging the ship’s bridge so badly that it was useless.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blasted the incident, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of authorizing the strike and threatening Tehran will retaliate. In separate talks with EU foreign policy leader Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Araghchi called the act a violation of international law.
Ukraine has admitted carrying out long-range operations in the Caspian Sea, with Zelenskyy saying Ukrainian forces hit vessels thought to be carrying military goods linked to Iran, and a Russian warship. Tehran, however, argues that the ship was a civilian commercial vessel and denies using the route to transport military goods.
The Kremlin also condemned the strike as an attack on Iran and said the episode shows what Moscow deems the growing threat posed by Kyiv's intensifying military operations.
The attack has gained worldwide attention as one of the few documented Ukrainian strikes in the Caspian Sea, widening the geographic breadth of the conflict beyond its regular theaters and adding another layer of concern to Iran’s already tight ties with Russia.
