Iran–Ukraine relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and Ukraine. Iran has an embassy in Kyiv and Ukraine has an embassy in Tehran. Prior to 2020, the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ukraine was friendly but has since sharply deteriorated due to Iran supplying its Shahed military drones to Russia during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 2020.
As of 2023, Ukraine reduced the diplomatic relations and imposed long term sanctions on Iran which include a complete ban on trading.
History
On 25 December 1991, Iran officially recognized the independence of Ukraine. Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Iran were established on 22 January 1992 with the signing of the 'Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Ukraine and the Islamic Republic of Iran'. In January 1992, the Embassy of Iran in Kyiv began operations and in October of the same year, the Embassy of Ukraine in Tehran also began its operations.
From 25 April to April 26, 1992, at the invitation of the President of Iran Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk paid a visit to Iran, where both the leaders signed the 'Declaration on the Principles of Friendly Cooperation between Ukraine and Islamic Republic of Iran'. The declaration stated that both countries will develop their relations as friendly states and equal partners, while being guided by the principles of respect for the sovereignty of both countries, the inviolability of borders, territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
Iran does not recognize the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and considers Crimea an integral part of Ukraine. In 2016, a meeting of the Ukrainian-Iranian joint commission on trade and economic cooperation was held for the first time. A mechanism was launched to simplify the procedure for obtaining Ukrainian visas by Iranian citizens. On the same year, the visit of the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Ihor Nasalyk to Iran contributed to the agreements on the transit of Iranian energy carriers to the European Union through the territory of Ukraine. The mechanism of political consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers of both states was resumed.
On 8 January 2020, the Iranian military accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, straining relations between the two countries. On 11 January, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the Iranian government to bring those responsible for the plane crash to justice and to discuss the issue of compensation. On 20 January 2020, an Iranian delegation headed by the special envoy of the President of Iran, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami arrived in Kyiv, where he met with Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vadym Prystaiko. The parties spoke about the need for a comprehensive and objective investigation of the shootdown of Flight 752.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. On 2 March, Iran abstained in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/1 which deplored Russia's invasion and demanded a full withdrawal of Russian forces and on 7 April, voted against United Nations General Assembly Resolution ES-11/3 which suspended the membership of Russia in the United Nations Human Rights Council.
During a visit to Tehran in July 2022, Vladimir Putin received staunch support from Iran over his invasion of Ukraine, with the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying that if Russia had not sent troops into Ukraine, it would have faced an attack from NATO later, echoing Putin’s own rhetoric.
Despite official statements in July 2022 that Iran would not supply Russia or Ukraine with military equipment during the war and downplaying the United States' assessment that Iran was preparing to transfer combat drones to Russia, Iranian-supplied suicide drones were being used by Russia against Ukraine from September 2022. On 23 September 2022 Ukraine revoked the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador to Ukraine Manouchehr Moradi and decided to reduce Iran's diplomatic presence in Ukraine to protest Iran's drone deliveries to Russia, calling it an "unfriendly act that deals a serious blow to relations between Ukraine and Iran".