Ukraine and Iran have agreed to keep talking to prevent tensions from rising, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after meeting his Iranian counterpart at the UN General Assembly on September 23.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23. "Our conversation focused on mutual steps to prevent further aggravation of tensions between our countries. We agreed to keep existing channels of communication open," Sybiha wrote on X, as reported by the Kyiv Independent and Reuters.

Iran supplied Russia with Shahed drones, which Moscow now mass-produces as the Geran. Russia is now rearming Iran across the Caspian as Tehran fights the US over the Strait of Hormuz.

"We also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and Europe, as well as various tracks of ongoing peace efforts," Sybiha said. "I reiterated Ukraine's position in support of a sooner restoration of peace and stability in both our regions."

The meeting follows up the "frank conversation" the two held on July 28, after Ukraine's SBU security service said on July 25 it had struck an Iranian vessel carrying military cargo between Iran and Russia. Iran's foreign ministry said the ship was commercial, that one sailor was killed and another injured, and called the strike an act of aggression.

Tehran has not accepted Kyiv's explanation that the strike was unintentional. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on August 10 that Ukraine "must certainly compensate" for the attack and warned that Iran would "compensate for it ourselves" if it did not. Sybiha repeated in New York that Russia bears "full responsibility" for its war against Ukraine and all casualties that follow from it, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which Russia builds as the Geran, have been fired at Ukraine throughout the war, and Moscow has stepped up production of a jet-powered version. Putin said on September 1 that Russia would keep supporting Iran and supply it with "necessary goods".

Tehran has not published its own account of the meeting. "Diplomacy is about direct conversation, even in challenging circumstances," Sybiha said.