File image.
Ukrainian media is speculating that Iran could respond to Kyiv’s strike on an Iranian-linked commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea with a missile attack, after Tehran issued a series of escalating threats in the days since the attack.
The vessel was hit on July 25, killing one sailor and wounding several others, marking the first direct link between the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the vessel was being used “in military cargo shipments involving Iran.” Later, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel told Channel 12 that the vessel was carrying Iranian weapons bound for Russia.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected that account on July 26, saying the strike was carried out “at Israel’s behest” and vowing it “cannot go unanswered.”
On X, the minister accused Zelensky, whom he called a “freeloader,” of a “blatant United Nations Charter violation” meant to drag Europe into Israel’s war. He said he raised the matter directly with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Tehran’s foreign ministry had called the attack “hostile and criminal,” insisting that Iran “never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.” It also summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest.
Araghchi’s warning was echoed by Ebrahim Azizi, head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, who wrote that “any attack on Iran always comes with a cost” and that Ukraine “may soon come to understand that Iran does not let actions go unanswered.”
Kyiv has dismissed the threats. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called them “unjustified and groundless,” writing on X that “the regime in Tehran is a direct accomplice to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” supplying weapons that “have killed Ukrainians since 2022.”
Still, Tehran’s warnings are being taken seriously by Ukrainian media, given Iran’s long-standing practice of responding directly to attacks on its people or territory.
A detailed analysis by Defense Express published on July 28 outlined just how real that missile threat is. Iran’s arsenal includes several medium-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching Ukrainian cities if launched from the Islamic Republic’s north.
The Ghadr and Emad, both derived from the Shahab-3 — itself a descendant of North Korea’s Hwasong-7 and, further back, the Soviet Scud-B — have a range of around 2,000 kilometers, run on liquid fuel, and carry warheads near 750 kg. The Emad adds a maneuverable reentry vehicle for limited terminal guidance, though this appears to cost it some range: a 2021 test covered around 1,800 kilometers.
The Sejjil is more advanced still. It’s solid-fueled for faster launch preparation, two-staged, and capable of carrying up to 1,500 kg at shorter ranges near 1,000 kilometers.
The most serious threat, per Defense Express, is the Khorramshahr, unveiled in 2017 and believed to be derived from North Korea’s BM-25 Musudan.
Iran concealed a longer-range, 4,000-kilometer version of the missile, achieved by carrying a lighter payload, for years. It has also fielded a submunition variant, already used against Israel, that scatters roughly 20 bomblets across an 8-km radius, complicating interception.
Countering these missiles would likely require advanced systems such as THAAD or Arrow-2, Defense Express noted, since conventional defenses, including Patriot, have limited effectiveness against medium-range ballistic threats.
While Defense Express’s analysis highlights a real threat to Ukraine, Iran may respond in a very different way. The Islamic Republic could target Ukrainian commercial vessels closer to home, in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman.
This option would be very damaging to Kyiv, which is already facing a Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. It would cripple the country’s ability to ship goods to the Middle East from other countries. At the same time, it would deny Kyiv the chance to use any missile attack by Iran as an excuse to solicit more support from the EU, and incite the collective against Tehran.
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we can hunt goatfuckers too.
it may be that the ukrainian zionist hitler clone wants to merge both wars to gain more funding and bring on ww-3 involving the usa and the rest of nato .. trump has already proven himself to be zionist nazi puppet con man. .
ukraine fears iran but not russia! wow! that´s because iran has an ideology! you can kill iranian leaders but you can´t kill shia faith… that´s why iran has beaten “the almighty” us, israel and now making nazi whores in “ukraine” cry! that shows how pathetic and weak capitalist russia has become! a revolution, not a “victory” in “smo” is what russia needs! confy oligarchs and neoliberals will became the neo-romanovs!
iran has balls! different of “russia”…capitalist russia doesn´t deserve the name! iran will strike, unless, russia intervenes ask to spare the poor banderites… poor, poor banderites, shelter them in moskva!
por mim que se exploda essa ucrânia nazi esse país ter que ser tomado inteiro pela rússia
globalists are selfishly abusing the current pause to reload and re-attack iran as always. the ukraine battlefield has been extended to the caspian. risking more energy supplies to europe.
publicity stunt come on sheeple