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Ukrainian officials have downplayed threats made by Iran after a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea killed a sailor.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: The Caspian is the shortest route between Iran’s northern ports and Russian territory, and it matters a lot more now that the US has shut down Iran’s Persian Gulf ports, because almost none of that route is exposed to Western navies. Iran and Russia have become close military partners, and that route is central to the partnership. Over the weekend, Ukraine’s security service put out its own list of what it hit: a Russian oil platform, a missile boat, and freighters under international sanctions. Zelenskyy confirmed the strikes on X, saying Kyiv had “achieved very strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship.” Ukraine has spent years blaming Iran for providing Russia drones that have left hundreds of Ukrainian civilians dead, but no Ukrainian strike had ever hit an Iranian ship before this weekend. Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel said there was nothing civilian about what that ship was hauling, describing the load as parts headed for Russian drone and missile production.

What’s going on now: Iranian officials are pissed, disputing Ukraine’s account and warning the strike would not go unpunished. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it “a blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war,” insisting it “CANNOT GO UNANSWERED,” and said he had raised a response with both Russia and the EU.

Ukraine slapped back, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha saying Iran’s warnings are “unjustified and groundless.” He added that Iran is “a direct accomplice to Russian aggression” that has fueled their war “with weapons that have killed Ukrainians since 2022.” He reposted Araghchi’s statement stamped with the words “Iranian lies.”

The two ministers later spoke by phone, with Sybiha urging Iran against escalation, though Araghchi said Ukraine had described the attack as “unintentional” and demanded “restitution for losses.”

This all comes as Zelenskyy makes a separate claim that Russian satellite imagery of US bases and Gulf territory has been landing in Iranian hands, and as the strikes coincide with a US pause in its bombing of Iran and a widening regional conflict that now stretches from the Red Sea to the Caspian.