Iranian-designed drones have wreaked havoc for Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops as Moscow took Tehran's technology and ran with it, supercharging production and deploying drones in devastating droves in its all-out war against Kyiv.As far as Ukraine is concerned, that makes Iran an indirect combatant. And that means Iranian cargo ships heading to Russia are fair game as far as military targets go.That's what happened this weekend in the Caspian Sea, and Tehran is not happy.Moscow's 53-month-old invasion has scrambled politics for Europe. The US-Israeli war with Iran has scrambled politics for the Middle East.So what do Ukrainian strikes on Iranian cargo -- or Russian ships -- in the Caspian mean for the two wars?
Ukraine's drone capabilities have grown exponentially in quantity and in quality since 2022, when Russia launched its all-out invasion.
"If the Ukrainians continue doing this, it's going to obviously make it more difficult for both Iran and Russia," said Nicole Grajewski, an Russia-Iran expert with Sciences Po, the famed French university. But, she added, "I don't see this as being a fundamental game changer in the war.""The Ukrainian strike against an Iranian ship represents a significant shift in tactics and sends a clear message that Ukraine will not tolerate aggression, regardless of where it originates," said Luke Coffey, a Russia expert at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank."I suspect these types of operations will make shipping between Russia and Iran across the Caspian increasingly difficult," he said.
