Tehran, Aug 4 (IANS) Iran was ready to strike three locations in Ukraine in response to what Tehran called a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea last week, stated Mohsen Rezaei, senior military advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

In an interview with the Iranian state television, Rezaei stated that Tehran had prepared a response but suspended it after Kyiv claimed the attack was accidental, according to Press Tv.

Last week, Iran accused Ukraine of hitting one of its merchant ships carrying a cargo of iron, killing one crew member and injuring three others. Kyiv claimed to have carried out drone attacks against two Russian ships carrying military material in the Caspian Sea, Italian News Agency Adnkronos reported.

Iranian authorities had threatened retaliation, but tensions eased after a phone call between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Ukrainian counterpart, during which Araghchi stated that Kyiv had assured Tehran that the attack was unintentional. "Even if it was a mistake, compensation is still expected," Rezaei said yesterday.

On July 26, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that the attack on an Iranian commercial vessel by Ukraine, which killed a sailor, was done at the 'behest' of Israel to drag Europe into its war.

"(Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war. In calls with EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv cannot go unanswered," Araghchi said on social media platform X.

On July 25, the Iranian Foreign Minister called on the European Union to take "decisive" action against Ukraine's targeting of an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea.

He made the remarks in a phone call with EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, in which the two sides discussed the latest regional developments, according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

–IANS

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