Ukraine Denies Iran's Accusations as Baseless and Groundless

JAKARTA - The Ukrainian Foreign Minister on Monday rejected Iran's accusations as "unfounded and unfounded" following an attack on a ship in the Caspian Sea.

In a post on the social media platform X, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Tehran of being a "direct handmaiden" in Russia's war against Ukraine by supplying weapons to Moscow.

"The regime in Tehran is a direct accomplice to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which triggered Moscow's criminal war with weapons that have killed Ukrainians since 2022," he said, launching Anadolu (27/7).

"Iran has no right to pretend to be a victim, let alone justify its threats with absurd references to the UN Charter," he said.

Furthermore, Foreign Minister Sybiha also accused Iran of trying to divert attention from Russia's attacks on civilian shipping in the Black Sea, which he said threatened global food security.

"But it won't work," he said.

"Russia's attack on freedom of navigation will be in the spotlight at today's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and we expect a strong response from the international community," said Foreign Minister Sybiha.

As previously reported, Iran on Saturday claimed Ukraine attacked one of its commercial vessels in the Caspian Sea, condemning the incident as an act of aggression and calling on the UN Security Council, the European Union, and the international community to hold those responsible accountable.

Tehran summoned Ukraine's envoy over the attack, with Iranian officials warning that the action "cannot be left unanswered."

President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on the X social media wrote that Ukraine had achieved "very strong results" with long-range attacks in the Caspian Sea, including against "a ship used in the delivery of military cargo involving Iran, as well as a warship."

However, he did not specifically mention the ship mentioned by Tehran.

Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned his country would retaliate for a deadly attack by Ukraine on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea.