Recently, the incident in which Ukraine attacked an Iranian merchant ship has raised concerns among many parties, leading to mutual accusations between Iran and Ukraine. On July 28th, local time, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Serebria held a telephone conversation with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Alaghizai regarding this matter. Serebria called for avoiding the escalation of the situation, while Alaghizai emphasized that any related losses must be compensated.
According to Reuters, Serbica said during a call on Tuesday that he warned Iran not to escalate the situation and demanded that it stop all support for Russia. He stated on social media platform X that the conversation was aimed at “open communication” and preventing the situation from worsening. He also emphasized that all actions by Ukraine were aimed at defending Ukraine and “ resisting Russian aggression,” and never intended to target civilian vessels or civilians.
Alaghezi confirmed on X that Serbica assured him that the attack was unintentional and that the Ukrainian side did not seek escalation. He also responded firmly: "Iran does not seek escalation either, but any attack against Iranian citizens or interests is unacceptable, and losses must be compensated."
On the 25th of this month, the Ukrainian military attacked an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea. The Iranian side strongly condemned this action and summoned the Ukrainian vice-consul in Iran.
Al-Aragzi previously criticized this move as a clear violation of the United Nations Charter, saying it was carried out under Israeli instigation, with the aim of dragging Europe into war. He also claimed that in a conversation with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, Catherine, and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, he made it clear that the actions of those who take benefits without doing anything would not go unchallenged.
According to Reuters, for over four years since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine has been continuously targeted by drones designed by Iran. Ukraine has developed countermeasures against these attacks and is providing assistance to countries in the Middle East that were affected by Iran’s counterattacks against the United States and Israel this year.
On the same day, Israeli Foreign Minister Salam posted a message on X, stating that he had also spoken with Serbiga. They discussed the challenges faced by their respective countries, including the threat posed by Iran. He expressed his hope to deepen cooperation with Ukraine.
