By Staff, Agencies

Iran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Tehran expects Moscow to respond decisively following Ukraine's attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.

Speaking in Moscow on Monday, Jalali said the merchant ship Anna, which was transporting iron from Russia's Astrakhan port to Iran's Bandar Anzali, was attacked two days earlier, killing one sailor and injuring several others.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed the vessel had been carrying military cargo from Iran to Russia, an allegation Jalali rejected, describing the ship as a "fully civilian" vessel transporting no military equipment.

Jalali called the strike a "criminal act," adding that the ship was anchored about five kilometres from the entrance to the Volga River while waiting for calmer weather when it was targeted. He said Russia, as a friendly nation, was expected to provide a serious response to the incident.

The ambassador added that Iran's Consulate General in Astrakhan worked with Russian authorities to facilitate the evacuation of the Iranian crew following the attack.

Jalali said the incident was the main topic of a telephone conversation on Sunday between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

According to Jalali, Araghchi stressed that Iran reserves the right to respond to the attack and said any decision would be made by the country's leadership in accordance with Iran's national interests.

Earlier, Araghchi described the strike as a "blatant" violation of the UN Charter and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of carrying out the attack at the behest of the “Israeli” occupation, warning that the incident would not go unanswered. Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi also warned that any attack against Iran would carry consequences.