Ukraine strikes Iranian vessels, Tehran accuses Kyiv of ‘hostile act’

Iran summoned a Ukrainian diplomat in Tehran on Sunday to protest an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, as the war in the Middle East threatened to overlap with the Ukraine conflict.

Iran said the attack left one sailor dead and injured several others. The country’s foreign ministry complained to Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran early on Sunday and “conveyed Iran’s strong protest over the ‘hostile and criminal act.'” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

In a post on X highlighting Ukraine’s attacks on distant Russian targets, 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.”

But the latest attacks by Ukraine, combined with Saudi military strikes on Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen following the rebel group’s attacks on Red Sea shipping in recent days, represent a widening of the Middle East conflict.

Air defenses in Saudi Arabia reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen on Saturday.

The fighting in the Red Sea and Caspian Sea took place during a pause in U.S. strikes on Iran after 13 straight nights of attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has halted attacks on Iran for now to allow more room for diplomacy, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News on Sunday.

“He’s giving talks some space, he’s giving it a little bit of room,” Waltz said.

The New York Times cited administration officials as saying that Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate U.S. military assaults against Iran, amid concerns over falling stockpiles of Patriot anti-missile interceptors and other air defense munitions.

The U.S. military said on Saturday that ​its naval blockade against Iran “remains in full effect” ​but did not explain why it halted its attacks. There were also no ⁠reports of attacks from Iran on neighboring countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday laid out what he believes it will take to end the war with Iran during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” Netanyahu said the war will end either “when this regime is either toppled or it’s sufficiently weakened that it knows it has to end its nuclear program and has to change its course.”

The U.S. launched the first set of strikes on Iran with Israel, and Jerusalem’s attacks on targets in Lebanon were previously a hurdle in U.S. peace talks with Tehran.

U.S. Central Command said late Saturday its naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect.

“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,” it said in a post on X late Saturday.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it has “established complete authority over the Strait of Hormuz.” In a post early Sunday on the Telegram social media platform, it said it forced six ships to anchor following warnings over the last 24 hours.

While formal high-level negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have stalled, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said technical talks with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz continued over the weekend.

Oil prices dropped Friday on a report that Pakistan is looking for a way to restart talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, fell nearly 4% to close at $96.78 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 3% to settle at $89.31 per barrel.

Three sources told Reuters that Pakistan’s effort to renew U.S.-Iran talks was backed by China.

— CNBC’s Garrett Downs and Reuters contributed to this report.