Iran said it sought “restitution” from Ukraine after a deadly drone strike against its civilian vessel, as language from both sides took a step back from the saber-rattling of the day before.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine carried out long-range drone strikes against vessels in the Caspian Sea, one of which Iran later said was a civilian vessel. Following outrage from Tehran and vows of revenge, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a call on Tuesday. Each communicated a slightly different message in their readouts after the call, but tensions remained high.
“Was assured by Ukrainian FM @andrii_sybiha that the attack on an Iranian ship was unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation,” Araghchi said in a post on X. “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable. There must be restitution for losses.”
Sybiha said he called Araghchi on Tuesday and had a “frank conversation” with him.
“Diplomacy is about direct conversation, even when it’s difficult. I stressed that our goal is to avoid unnecessary escalation,” he said.
Sybiha’s comments appeared to cede significant ground to the Iranian perspective, going from Zelensky’s Saturday claim that Ukraine had targeted “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran” to apparently admitting it hit a civilian vessel, saying Ukraine “never intended to target civilian vessels or people.”
“This is also true with regard to Iran’s statements about their national who died and a civilian vessel that was targeted in a recent incident. Our goal is to counter Russian aggression, which is the root cause of all incidents, and it is Russia who bears full responsibility for all provocations and casualties,” he said.
“I emphasised the necessity to refrain from any escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. This war is illegal and it must end,” Sybiha continued. “Our position remains unchanged: Europe and the Middle East deserve stability, security, and peace.”
Iranian outrage over the Caspian Sea attack sparked fears that the two largest ongoing wars could see a convergence, with some analysts warning that Iran could directly strike Ukraine with ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation Director Andriy Kovalenko said on Tuesday there is “currently no official information … about preparations for such a strike.”
“However, Iran does potentially possess the weapons to carry out such actions,” he added.
Araghchi had been actively belligerent on Sunday after the Ukrainian attack, threatening retaliation against Ukraine.
“Zelensky has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant [United Nations] Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war,” he said. “In calls with [European Union High Representative Kaja Kallas] and [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov], made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.”
DEADLY UKRAINIAN ATTACK ON IRANIAN VESSEL ‘CANNOT GO UNANSWERED,’ TEHRAN SAYS
Ukraine and Iran, though not at war with each other, are both close to each other’s adversary, putting them in a proxy rivalry. Araghchi’s claim that the drone strike against the Iranian vessel was “done at Israel’s behest,” with the wider aim of bringing Europe into the war, shows the underlying tension of mixed alliances.
Israel has long had positive relations with both Russia and Ukraine due to the large number of Jewish emigres from each with connections back home. Israel’s ties with Russia have been strained in recent years, however, due to their conflicting relationships with the U.S. and Iran.