Iran adviser says Tehran called off planned strikes on Ukraine after alleged apology
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mohsen Rezaei, has claimed that Tehran scrapped plans for strikes on three targets inside Ukraine after Kyiv allegedly apologized for an incident involving an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea.
“We were ready to strike three targets on Ukrainian territory, but after the country apologized, we called off the attack,” Rezaei was quoted as saying by Israeli outlet Ynet .
However, neither Ukraine nor Iran had previously made any public statement about an apology from Kyiv. Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he held a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
In his statement , Sybiha did not mention any apology. He said he had a “frank conversation” with Araghchi, called on Tehran to avoid escalation, and insisted that all Ukrainian actions are aimed exclusively at countering Russian aggression.
“I reiterated that all of Ukraine’s measures are aimed solely at defending our country from Russian aggression and have never targeted civilian vessels or people. This also applies to Iran’s claims about the death of its citizen and the civilian ship that was targeted in a recent incident. Our goal is to counter Russian aggression, which is the root cause of all incidents, and Russia bears full responsibility for all provocations and victims.
I emphasized the need to refrain from any steps that could lead to escalation, and to halt any support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. This war is illegal, and it must end.”
Two hours after Sybiha’s post, Araghchi wrote that the Ukrainian minister had assured him the strike on the Iranian vessel was unintentional.
Subsequently, several media outlets reported new details of the conversation, not included in the official statements. Times of India, citing Iranian media, reported that Sybiha had called the incident an “operational error.” Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen also reported , citing a source in Tehran, that Ukraine’s foreign minister had offered an apology.
The conflict began after Ukrainian strikes against Russian targets in the Caspian Sea. On July 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced strikes on Russian defense industry facilities, oil refineries, transport infrastructure, and a Russian warship.
Later, Ukrainian media citing state security services reported that cargo ships Port Olya 2 (IMO: 9481881) and Begey (IMO: 8943210) were also hit. According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, both ships were used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia.
Ukrainian intelligence reports that between July 2022 and June 2023, Begey entered Iranian ports Amirabad, Nowshahr, Astara, and Anzali at least 11 times before heading to Astrakhan. Shipments of Iranian drones to Russia reportedly passed through Amirabad. In 2023, The Insider, citing Sky News, reported that Begey and another Russian ship, Musa Jalil, were used for covert deliveries from Iran of ammunition, including around 100 million rounds and 300,000 artillery and mortar shells.
After the strikes, Araghchi accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea, stating that an Iranian sailor had been killed and that the incident “cannot be left unanswered.”
Tehran has also insisted it has “never interfered in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” a claim that contradicts well-documented evidence of military cooperation between Iran and Russia. Since 2022, Russian forces have used Iranian-made Shahed combat drones against Ukraine. Western intelligence and media have repeatedly reported on Iranian supplies of weapons and ammunition to Russia. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the vessels hit in the Caspian Sea were used specifically for transporting such military cargo.
Meanwhile, Tehran began publicly warning of possible retaliation against Ukraine. Two days before a drone attack on Egypt’s Damietta port, Iranian state television identified this port as a possible retaliatory target. The port was subsequently attacked by a drone striking the Energos Winter floating LNG storage and regasification unit moored in Damietta.
As previously reported by The Insider, experts concluded the target was not the export LNG terminal supplying Europe, as claimed by Iranian state media, but an import facility providing gas to Egypt. While the strike could not directly impact European gas supplies, analysts say it may have had symbolic significance.
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