Iran Blasts "Freeloader" Zelensky For Ordering Deadly Attack On Caspian Vessel "At Israel's Behest"
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Jul 27, 2026 - 04:30 AM
Summary:
- Iran Accuses Zelensky of Ordering Deadly Caspian Vessel Attack
- Weekend US Crude via IG Markets Down 5%
- Iran Will Halt Tit-For-Tat Strikes If US Maintains Pause
- Iran, Oman Hold Hormuz Talks As US Pauses Airstrikes For Second Day
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Iran Lashes Out at "Freeloader" Zelensky for Caspian Sea Attack
Iran has accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, which it says resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another.
As we previously reported of the Saturday maritime incident, Ukraine seems to be openly boasting of this escalation. President Zelensky himself announced soon after on X, "We also have very good results from long-range strikes in the waters of the Caspian Sea. In particular, these are vessels that were involved in transporting military cargo from Iran, and a warship."
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to severely protest the "hostile and criminal" attack on Saturday, IRNA reported. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has further warned that the "blatant UN Charter violation" which was "done at Israel's behest" could serve to "drag Europe into its war." Araghchi also denounced and attacked Zelensky personally, calling him the "freeloader in Kyiv"...
Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war.
In calls with EU High Rep Kallas and FM Lavrov, made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED.
This isn't the first time that FM Araghchi has called out Zelensky. Back in January of this year, for example, he called Zelensky a "confused clown", and said that the Ukrainian leader had been "rinsing American and European taxpayers to fill the pockets of his corrupt generals." The two countries have previously clashed over Iran supplying Russia with Shahed suicide drones.
Iran Will Halt Tit-For-Tat Strikes If US Maintains Pause
The diplomatic track appears to have opened with the Trump administration's move to pause strikes as a goodwill gesture ahead of the weekend - now in its second day. That created space for Omani officials to meet their Iranian counterparts over the weekend, with Tehran reporting "some progress." The talks have now produced a reciprocal stand-down, under which Iran would halt retaliatory strikes on US bases as long as the US maintains its pause in airstrikes.
Reuters reports:
Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its latest pause on air strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday, after President Donald Trump abruptly called off his two-week-old bombing campaign.
After 13 nights of intensifying U.S. air strikes on Iran, the Pentagon abruptly suspended the campaign late on Friday, with no U.S. attacks reported on either Saturday or Sunday.
Iran, which had been following each night of U.S. attacks with its own strikes on neighboring countries that host U.S. bases, has also so far held fire for two days.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday that Trump had decided to pause U.S. attacks to allow more time for diplomacy.
"He's giving talks some space, he's giving it a little bit of room," Waltz said, without providing further details.
The senior Iranian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: "Iran's position remains 'attack for attack': if the attacks stop, Iran will also halt its operations. That message has already been conveyed to the United States."
The source added: "However, Iran is prepared to mount a broad response should the U.S. launch another attack."
Asked about the pause, a senior official in Trump's administration said on Saturday that the president "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."
The senior Iranian source said Tehran did not hold much hope that Trump's decision to pause strikes represented a major shift in the U.S. negotiating position.
"There is more skepticism than optimism about the halt in attacks. The prevailing view is that the pause is tactical rather than genuine. Iran has accumulated enough bitter experience with what it sees as U.S. deception," the source said.
As a result of both sides trying to find a diplomatic route to ending the intensifying tit-for-tat strikes that sent Brent crude futures north of $100 a barrel last week, Weekend US Crude via IG Markets is down about 5% as of late morning New York time.
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