Iran considered attacking a seaport in Ukraine following a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian ship, but diplomacy has eased the tensions, The New York Times reported on Tuesday citing Iranian and Western officials, Anadolu reports.
Ukraine struck an Iranian commercial cargo ship in the Caspian Sea on Saturday, killing a civilian sailor. Iranian officials threatened retaliation.
Intelligence sources quoted in the report said Iran might have responded with a ballistic missile carrying a small warhead, aiming for a symbolic strike with limited damage. Other officials said Ukraine’s Black Sea ports were likely targets.
Iranian officials said the retaliation would end the dispute, but Western officials said Ukraine’s response was unpredictable.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Ukraine of violating the UN charter, saying on US social media platform X that the incident “CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.”
After Ukrainian diplomats tried to reduce tensions, Araghchi spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Araghchi later said on X that Sybiha described the cargo ship attack as unintentional.
“I was assured by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha that the attack on an Iranian ship was unintentional and Ukraine seeks no escalation,” Araghchi said.
He said Iran likewise does not seek escalation but stressed that attacks against Iranian citizens or national interests are “unacceptable.”
Earlier Tuesday, Sybiha said Ukraine seeks to avoid “unnecessary escalation” with Iran and insisted that Ukrainian actions are directed solely at defending the country against Russia, not at targeting civilian vessels or people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier that Ukrainian forces struck vessels involved in military cargo shipments linked to Iran, but did not identify any specific vessel.
