Iran summoned a Ukrainian diplomat in Tehran on Sunday to protest an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea that Iran said left one sailor dead and injured several others.
Iran's foreign ministry told Ukraine's chargé d'affaires that it "conveyed Iran's strong protest over the 'hostile and criminal act'," the ministry said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that his country's forces "also 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."
Russia has long used Iranian-designed Shahed drones in its war on Ukraine, a weapon that analysts sometimes refer to as "the poor man's cruise missile."
The latest attacks by Ukraine, combined with Saudi military strikes on Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen, represent a widening of the Middle East conflict, and the fighting in the Red Sea and Caspian Sea took place during a pause in U.S. strikes on Iran after 13 straight nights.
A senior administration official said President Donald Trump "has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way."
U.S. Central Command said late Saturday that its naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect and that "As of July 25, CENTCOM has redirected 12 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 2 that didn't comply, and boarded 2 to ensure total compliance."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it has "established complete authority over the Strait of Hormuz" and said it forced six ships to anchor following warnings over the last 24 hours; Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said technical talks with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz continued over the weekend.
Brent crude futures fell nearly 4% to close at $96.78 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 3% to settle at $89.31 a barrel; three sources said Pakistan's effort to renew U.S.-Iran talks was backed by China.