“We intended to strike three sites in Ukraine, but called off the attack after Ukraine apologized,” Rezaei said.
On July 28, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. During the call, Sybiha reassured Tehran that Ukraine sought to avoid further escalation, adding that the Iranian ship was not the intended target of Ukrainian drones over the Caspian.
On July 25, Iran accused Ukraine of attacking its commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, calling the incident an act of aggression and saying Kyiv was attempting to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s territory.
That same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
there were “very good results” from long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea,
citing ships he said were used to transport military cargo linked to Iran.
Commenting on Tehran’s statements, Zelenskyy said Iran and North Korea are
already participating in the war against Ukraine by supplying Russia with
weapons, military technology, and other support.