A senior military to Iran revealed they had been planning to launch strikes on Ukraine but scrapped them at the last minute after receiving an apology from Kyiv.
Tehran was said to be readying for attacks on three locations in retaliation for Ukraine’s strike on a ship it said was transporting military cargo in the Caspian Sea.
Ukraine’s military previously announced ‘very good results’ in long-range strikes in the waterway on July 25, including against vessels said to be carrying military equipment to Iran.
Last night Mohsen Rezaei, adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader and senior officer in Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards, claimed they had been planning retaliatory attacks.
‘We were set to strike three sites in Ukraine, but cancelled the attack after Ukraine’s apology,’ he reportedly said.
He gave no details as to the exact strike by Ukraine which had caused the animosity, or on Kyiv’s supposed apology.
Rezaei also warned again that Iran would not allow any ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz outside of a specific route unilaterally designated by Tehran.
Iran has repeatedly said any attempt to traverse the vital shipping lane, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed prior to the outbreak of conflict, would result in hostile response.
