Ukraine's foreign minister calls Araghchi after Caspian Sea attack as Tehran demands restitution

Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday 28 July 2026 that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he had spoken by telephone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. Writing on X, Sybiha said he had stressed "the necessity to refrain from any escalatory steps" and to end any support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

Araghchi confirmed the call and wrote on X that Iran does not seek escalation either, but that any attack on the country's citizens or interests is "unacceptable" and that "there must be restitution for losses". According to Al Jazeera, Araghchi had said on Sunday 26 July that the Ukrainian drone attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, which killed one sailor and injured another, "cannot go unanswered".

Ukraine has said the operation targeted a Russian warship and vessels carrying Iranian linked military cargo, and that it never intended to harm civilian vessels or people. The Caspian Sea is one of Iran's trade routes to Russia and Central Asia, and its security affects freight and insurance costs on that corridor.