The Iran and Ukraine wars are colliding on the world’s biggest lake. Here’s what to know

 

A satellite image of the Caspian Sea. Planet Observer/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The Caspian Sea has become the latest region to be sucked into the growing conflict between Iran and its adversaries – not least because it’s a vital artery in the growing relationship between Iran and Russia.

Ukraine at the weekend said its drones had struck two Russian vessels carrying military cargoes in the Caspian, the world’s largest inland body of water. It asserted that both had left Iran for a Russian port.

In a post on X Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the targets included “ships that were involved in transporting military cargo from Iran, as well as a warship,” subsequently identified by Ukraine’s security service as a Russian missile boat.

Iran countered that one of its commercial vessels carrying a cargo of iron had been struck, killing one seafarer and injuring three others.

The ship, which it did not name, was sailing from the Russian port of Astrakhan to Anzali in Iran, which Iranian regional governor Hadi Hagh-Shenas described as “a safe and reliable corridor for commercial exchanges between the two ports.”

Tensions escalated further Monday when Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, “Ukraine’s dangerous adventurism will certainly not go unanswered by us.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran was summoned to the foreign ministry over the incident.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei speaks at a weekly press conference in Tehran, Iran, on June 23.

Xinhua/Shutterstock

Where is the Caspian Sea?

The recriminations reflect the growing importance of the Caspian, which is bordered by five countries, including Iran and Russia. With the blockade of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the Caspian has taken on new significance as a trade route.

The Caspian can help Iran towards “a diversified trade strategy, especially if Iran promotes trade with Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China via rail, and, indirectly, Eastern Europe,” according to Bijan Khajehpour, managing partner of Vienna-based Eurasian Nexus Partners, a consulting firm.

It is “a strategic complement rather than a substitute for Iran’s existing maritime access through the southern waters,” Khajehpour told CNN.

Russian grain and steel are among the cargoes that cross the Caspian. Iran has developed several significant ports on the sea, among them Anzali. Oil and gas from Kazakhstan are transported from the Caspian to a hub on the Black Sea.