Kanal13Following Ukraine’s strike on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, the wars in Ukraine and Iran could escalate, according to an article in The New York Times . The authors explained that this episode marked an uncharacteristic direct confrontation between two countries that had been on opposite sides for many years.
“Ukraine’s strike on an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea over the weekend underscored the links between the two countries’ wars, heightened tensions between them, and raised the risk of a more direct confrontation,” the article said.
It is also worth noting that since 2022, Iran has been supplying Russia with kamikaze attack drones, which the occupation army has been using en masse against Ukraine. This involves the transfer of technology developed in Iran and the training of Russian military personnel by Iranian instructors. There is also information about Iranian ballistic missiles being supplied to Russia. Ukraine developed its own anti-drone defense system. And when Iran began shelling neighboring countries with similar drones, Ukraine shared its expertise with allied countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
“Ukraine is increasingly portraying its war with Russia and the war in the Middle East as interconnected, claiming that Iran and Russia are helping each other in their conflicts,” the article says.
The authors recalled that, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian intelligence agencies had collected evidence that Russia had provided Iran with satellites to monitor Persian Gulf countries and American military bases in the region. This helped Tehran plan and carry out attacks. And it was on that very day that Ukraine attacked an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea: “This is the clearest evidence to date that the protracted proxy conflict between Kyiv and Tehran could escalate into a more direct confrontation.”
Journalists speculated that, using all these arguments during the meeting in the United States, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will try to convince Donald Trump that Ukraine and the United States share the same enemy. This could serve as a pretext for “advocating for closer military ties.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister says he called his Iranian counterpart following Tehran’s denunciation of a Ukrainian drone attack on one of its ships, warning him against escalation.
“I emphasised the necessity to refrain from any escalatory steps, as well as to end any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X of his conversation with Iran’s top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi. “This war is illegal and it must end.” Araghchi confirmed the phone call and, according to remarks carried by Iranian media, said that Sybiha assured that the attack was “unintentional and that Ukraine had no desire to escalate tensions”.
In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable”. “There must be restitution for losses,” he said. Araghchi said on Sunday that the Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, which killed one sailor and injured another, “cannot go unanswered“. He also accused Israel of provoking the attack in an attempt to “drag Europe into its war”. Ukraine said it had targeted a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iranian-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea. In his comments, Sybiha said Ukraine’s actions were “aimed solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and never intended to target civilian vessels or people”. In more than four years of conflict with Russia, Ukraine has faced barrages of Iranian-designed drones.
