Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazım Celali said they were seeking compensation from Ukraine following the incident involving an Iranian-flagged commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea. Celali said one person died and several others were injured in the incident.
Celali said the vessel was a civilian ship carrying commercial cargo and argued that the attack was deliberate. He said Ukraine’s foreign minister had contacted Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, issued an explanation and apologized, adding that Kyiv had accepted responsibility for the attack and provided assurances that a similar incident would not happen again.
Compensation talks with Ukraine
Celali said talks with Ukraine on compensation were continuing and that they hoped the process would be concluded. He said Tehran was currently focusing not on a possible military response against Kyiv, but on compensation for the damage to the vessel and for those affected by the incident.
The Iranian ambassador argued that Kyiv should be held responsible for its actions because of the support it receives from European countries and the US. Celali also claimed that civilians had been killed in attacks on economic facilities in the Republic of Tatarstan and criticized Western countries’ approach to these incidents as political and selective.
Date of Lavrov’s Iran visit remains undisclosed
Celali said no date had yet been set for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Iran and that consultations between senior officials of the two countries remained on the agenda. He said the date of the visit would be announced at an appropriate time.
Celali said they welcomed Russia’s proposal to mediate dialogue between Iran and Arab countries, adding that they viewed Moscow as a true friend in difficult times. He said Tehran was ready to cooperate with any role Russia could play in improving Iran’s relations with its neighbors.
Iran does not rule out dialogue with the US
Assessing the possibility of diplomatic contacts with the US, Celali said the window for diplomacy would never close completely. He said Iran would remain ready for negotiations and dialogue while also strengthening its military preparedness, arguing that the two approaches were not contradictory.
Celali claimed that the positioning of US ships far from Iran’s shores indicated that Washington may have received the message previously conveyed to it. Reiterating his earlier statement that Iran had damaged the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, Celali also acknowledged that some reports concerning the condition of US military personnel and equipment had not been confirmed by the Pentagon or US officials.
Railway and energy plans with Russia
Celali said talks on infrastructure and economic projects between Iran and Russia were continuing and identified the Rasht–Astara railway project as a priority. He said an agreement had been reached on the implementation contract for the project, which is part of the North–South Transport Corridor, and that the signing stage was being planned.
Celali said concrete talks were being held on energy cooperation, including the transportation of Russian gas to Iran and the construction of the required infrastructure. He said work at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was continuing and stressed that cooperation between the two countries was not limited to the political level.
Concern over nuclear facilities
Celali also commented on reports that the US was considering a plan to seize Iran’s stocks of enriched uranium at its nuclear facilities. He argued that the US and Israel had attacked facilities covered by international safeguards and said the actions of nuclear-armed states against a country without nuclear weapons were causing concern.
Celali claimed that the International Atomic Energy Agency had not directly condemned the development and said Iran and the international community were concerned about the weakening of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.
Accusation over school attack in Iran
Celali said the US had denied responsibility for an attack on a school in Iran in July and had stated that it had not targeted children. Celali claimed that fragments from Tomahawk missiles had been found at the scene and said various pieces of evidence showed that the target was an active girls’ elementary school, criticizing the US for rejecting these claims.
The Iranian ambassador said the tragedy experienced by the girls killed in the attack and their families would not be forgotten. He argued that those responsible and those who encouraged the attack should be brought to justice.
