‘Israel seeking to use Ukraine to drag Europe into war’
Head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Ebrahim Azizi, has warned that Ukraine will soon realise that Iran will not let actions against it go unanswered, and any attack on it always carries a cost.
Speaking early on Monday, Azizi said: ‘Any attack on Iran always has a cost, and that remains true to this day.
‘The United States and Israel are well aware of this. Ukraine will likely soon realise that Iran will not leave actions against it unanswered.’
He further warned: ‘The list of those who have made miscalculations continues to grow.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a post on X on Saturday that Kiev had hit vessels he claimed were used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship in the Caspian Sea.
Iran issued a strongly worded condemnation, saying it would respond to the attack, which left one sailor dead and another injured and damaged the Iranian commercial vessel.
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Zelensky had attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor, in ‘a clear violation of the United Nations Charter’ and which was carried out ‘at Israel’s instigation to drag Europe into war.’
Araghchi also said in separate telephone conversations with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Ukraine’s action ‘cannot go unanswered.’
Iran’s deputy parliament speaker has also warned Ukraine that any ‘mischievous’ act in the region or the Caspian Sea will be met with Tehran’s ‘regret-inducing’ response.
Hamid-Reza Haji Babaei issued the stark warning on Monday as tensions escalated between Tehran and Kiev following the Ukrainian drone strike on an Iranian commercial vessel that killed a sailor.
‘We warn Ukraine’s masters that any mischief through your stooge in the region and the Caspian Sea will be met with a regret-inducing response from the great Iranian nation,’ he said.
He added that Iran would not allow the United States to determine the time of war and ceasefire, stressing the importance of standing firm in the face of Washington’s demands and preventing it from acting as a rogue element in the region.
He questioned America’s so-called peace and dialogue, saying they are all equal to war.
Haji Babaei stressed the need for Iran to remain vigilant because genuine understanding with the US will never be achieved but ‘it is the nation’s will that will always be a determining factor.’
In a strongly worded post on X on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Ukraine’s military attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea was carried out at the Israeli regime’s behest in a bid to drag Europe into its war in the West Asia region.
Araghchi said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky orchestrated the attack, which constituted a ‘blatant’ violation of the United Nations Charter.
In his remarks, Haji Babaei also emphasised the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, as a major source of power for the Iranian nation and the pinnacle of the country’s power that must be protected.
He noted that national unity remains the key to the country’s progress, saying Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei has repeatedly underscored the importance of solidarity.
The lawmaker added that both Ayatollah Khamenei and the Iranian nation remain committed to preserving the legacy of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution and to confronting the ‘global arrogance’ front, emphasising that the country should continue moving forward on that basis.
Iran has warned vessels against using unauthorised routes through the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the United States is using commercial ships for military purposes.
‘From the very beginning, we said that the southern route is unsafe. The United States, assuming that Iran was busy with the funeral of the Leader, took action to divert ships from the northern route to the southern route.
‘The US must be held accountable for this, and also for the fact that it uses commercial ships as cover for its military objectives,’ Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
His remarks came a day after an oil tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after it deviated from a shipping route designated by Iranian authorities.
The Iranian news outlet Defa Press reported on Sunday that the tanker struck a naval mine after deviating from the route specified by Iran for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Noting that US President Donald Trump doesn’t attach any credibility to his signature on the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU), the spokesman said: ‘America has acted more like a mafia gang in recent months. As long as America insists on this action, nothing positive will happen.’
Commenting on new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s decision to grant the US access to its territory for anti-Iran strikes, and the expected US-UK meeting on the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said: ‘We expected the new British government to act more wisely than the previous one, but unfortunately we saw that in practice it followed the same path – maybe even worse.’
The US and UK are planning to convene a high-level meeting in London this week that will focus on a potential international coalition allegedly to ‘protect maritime shipping’ in the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei warned that any intervention in the issue of the Strait of Hormuz will only complicate the situation and will not help resolve the issue.
‘If Britain and other parties that claim to be concerned about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz are honest, they should look to the root cause of the problem,’ he said, as the Strait of Hormuz was open before February 28, and the current situation is a result of unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned the British government’s decision to allow the US to use UK military bases and facilities to prepare and facilitate military strikes against Iran, declaring the move a violation of the UN Charter and international law.
‘British policymakers, fully aware that US military strikes against Iran – which began with the participation of the Zionist regime and are still ongoing – constitute a clear act of aggression and a gross violation of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and peremptory norms of international law, have decided to join these actions,’ the ministry said.
The decision is ‘clearly contrary to the fundamental principles and rules of the Charter of the United Nations and international law’ and, under paragraph (f) of Article 3 of UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 on the Definition of Aggression, ‘constitutes an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran’.
The foreign ministry sharply criticized Britain’s role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
‘The UK government, both as a state and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, instead of fulfilling its legal and moral responsibilities to condemn the military aggression and war crimes of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran, has stepped onto the path of aligning with the aggressors and has degraded its position to that of an accomplice in their war against the Iranian nation.
‘This decision,’ the ministry added, ‘further undermines London’s claims about supporting the rule of law, human rights, and international peace and security.’
The statement drew explicit parallels with Britain’s long history of intervention in Iranian affairs.
It listed ‘the coup of August 19, 1953; full-scale support for Saddam Hussein’s regime during the imposed war; the imposition of illegal sanctions under the pretext of the nuclear issue; complicity with the United States in the so-called ‘snapback’ mechanism; and the designation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as terrorist.
‘The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interests, and national security against any aggression,’ the ministry emphasised.
‘Any party that in any way participates in the military aggression against Iran will be responsible for the consequences and repercussions of its own decisions.’