Iran Claims It Had Been Preparing Strikes on Three Targets in Ukraine

Iran said it had been preparing strikes on three targets in Ukraine in retaliation for an attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea.

General Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, stated this during an appearance on Iranian state television.

Rezaei said Tehran ultimately decided not to launch the strikes after Ukraine allegedly told Iranian officials that the attack on the vessel had been accidental.

“We were prepared to strike three locations in Ukraine, but after they said the attack had been a mistake, we put our response on hold to assess their claim,” Rezaei said.

He also claimed that Iran’s armed forces had completed preparations for the strikes, but that the operation was ultimately called off.

Iran possesses several missile systems that could, in theory, reach Ukrainian territory, including the Sejjil, Emad, Ghadr-110, Shahab-3, and Khorramshahr-2. Intercepting such missiles would pose a significant challenge for Ukraine’s air defense systems. Read more here: Iran’s Ballistic Missiles: Weapons of Terror That Have Failed to Deliver.

Background

On July 25, Iran accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea. According to Tehran, the strike killed one crew member and injured another.

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had struck a military vessel and other ships involved in transporting military cargo from Iran in the Caspian Sea.

Tehran claimed the vessel was carrying civilian cargo, while Ukraine said it was transporting Iranian-made components for drones and missiles to Russia.

Following the incident, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. According to the Iranian foreign minister, he told the Ukrainian side that Iran expects compensation for the damage caused by the attack.

In April this year, Iranian propaganda outlets circulated disinformation claiming that Iran had carried out strikes on targets in Ukraine. The video featured three cities – Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro – but all of the footage was AI-generated.

Iran and Russia have significantly expanded their military cooperation in recent years. Tehran has provided Moscow with the technology to manufacture Shahed attack drones, which Russian forces have used extensively in strikes against Ukraine.