An Iranian merchant ship came under Ukrainian attack in the Caspian Sea, raising fears the conflict with Iran could spread to the region. Pictured is the southern coast of Yemen on Saturday (local time). [AFP]
An Iranian merchant ship came under Ukrainian attack in the Caspian Sea, raising fears the conflict with Iran could spread to the region. Pictured is the southern coast of Yemen on Saturday (local time). [AFP]

A Ukrainian strike on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea has raised fears that the conflict involving Iran could spread to the region.

Iran called on the EU to hold Ukraine accountable after a Ukrainian attack on one of its merchant ships in the Caspian Sea killed one crew member, the Financial Times reported Saturday (local time).

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an explosion aboard the Iranian merchant vessel, caused by a Ukrainian strike in the early hours of that day, killed one crew member and wounded another. "Iran will not hesitate to defend itself," the ministry said.

It then urged European nations, if they genuinely cared about containing the spread of conflict in the Middle East, to hold Ukraine responsible for the attack.

Ukraine also acknowledged striking an Iran-linked vessel in the Caspian Sea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Ukraine had struck "a Russian warship and vessels used to transport Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a phone call that day with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, said the UN Security Council and the EU must respond decisively to the attack.

The incident occurred amid weeks of armed conflict between the United States and Iran.

Iran, whose ceasefire MOU with the United States has been rendered in effect void, reaffirmed that day its longstanding position of non-involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine has long accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia.

Zelensky also claimed on X that Russia was supporting Iran's missile strikes against Gulf states.

"Since early July, we have confirmed that Russia has been actively using satellites to monitor Gulf states and US military facilities in the region," he said. "There is a clear correlation between Russian satellite imagery operations and Iranian attacks."

The Ukrainian strike on the Iranian vessel drew particular attention because it came as Iran has struggled to conduct trade through its southern sea routes due to a US blockade.

The Caspian Sea, which borders Iran to the north, serves as a critical corridor for the country to import goods from neighboring coastal states and receive Chinese cargo transiting through Central Asia.

Reuters, citing the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group's attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities along the Red Sea coast, reported that "the Iran war shows signs of spreading to the Red Sea and the Caspian Sea."


greg@heraldcorp.com