The Foreign Ministry has delivered a note of protest over Kiev’s support for US and Israeli military actions
Tehran has summoned Ukraine’s charge d’affaires and delivered a formal protest over remarks by Ukrainian officials in support of the recent US-Israeli attack on the country. The move was announced by Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday.
Earlier this month, Israel attacked Iran, claiming that Tehran was nearing completion of a nuclear bomb. Washington later also joined the bombing campaign. Iran denied the allegations and retaliated. The 12-day war ended in a US-brokered ceasefire last week, which has so far been observed.
In a statement on its official website, the ministry denounced what it called “unjustified comments made by some Ukrainian officials regarding the Zionist regime’s and American aggression against Iran.”
“By supporting the military aggression of the Zionist regime, Ukrainian officials have in fact ignored Ukraine’s international legal obligations regarding respect for the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and the four Geneva Conventions,” Shahram Farsai, the head of the First Eurasian Department, told the Ukrainian envoy.
The Ukrainian diplomat reportedly assured Iranian officials that the protest would be conveyed to Kiev without delay. Iranian authorities warned of “consequences” if what they described as repeated “hostile and provocative actions” continued.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not name specific Ukrainian officials or statements. However, during the 12-day war, Kiev officially condemned Iran’s June 23 missile strike on the US Al-Udeid air base in Qatar. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry claimed that Tehran was closely cooperating with Moscow and that they were jointly “destabilizing the Middle East and Europe.”
In an interview with Sky News last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky also described Kiev’s relations with Tehran as “very complicated” and criticized Iran for supporting Russia. Zelensky expressed support for the US-Israeli strike campaign, calling it “a powerful and correct move.”
Iran and Moscow have repeatedly stressed that their growing cooperation is not aimed against third parties and is intended to ensure peace and stability and to maintain their independence and sovereignty.
