“Ukraine’s recent strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be very concerning to U.S. policymakers,” Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, told Newsweek. “There is little evidence of Israeli-Ukrainian cooperation, but Zelensky understands that the only way he can win his war is by expanding it, dragging the United States and Europe more directly into the conflict.”
“The strike on the Iranian vessel and his repeated statements about Russia sharing intelligence with Iran are transparent efforts to link the two conflicts together,” Kavanagh said. “If he is a combatant in the U.S. war on Iran, he hopes the U.S. will do the same in Ukraine.”
Kavanagh, for her part, pointed out how Russia and Iran’s longstanding cooperation has already “increased over the course of the two wars,” but also argued that “the support they provide each other is far less than what the United States and Europe do for Israel and Ukraine.” Nor, she said, have Russia and Iran “tried to tie the two conflicts together” in such a direct manner.
“Escalation in the Caspian Sea will not, however, advance U.S. interests,” Kavanagh said. “Washington can and should push Zelensky to avoid widening his war in this way.”
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