In a statement, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that, following what it called the “criminal action of the Ukrainian army in the attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea,” the Charge d’Affaires ad interim of Ukraine in Tehran has been summoned to the ministry.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic announced the summoning of the Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires on Saturday night, and said it was carried out by Manoچеhr Moradi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director-General for Eurasia, adding that the “level of severe objection” of the Islamic Republic to this “hostile and criminal act” was conveyed to him.

In the statement, it was said: “The Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires was informed that the attack on the Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea is not only a violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and an instance of an aggressive act, but also an obvious threat to the security of all coastal countries, and the Ukrainian government must be held accountable in this regard and punish the instigators and perpetrators of this crime.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic noted that the Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine in Tehran was told that the Islamic Republic “has firmly defended its security and national interests and will not leave any attack on the lives and property of its citizens unanswered.”