Kiev’s Jubilation Over Drone Attack May Push Iran to Take ‘New Approach’ on Ukraine Crisis: Official

Iran summoned Ukraine’s envoy in Tehran on Monday to explain a tweet by Ukrainian Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, who stated that Ukraine had “warned” the Islamic Republic about the consequences of its supposed military support for Russia after Saturday’s drone attack on a military factory in central Iran.

Tehran may alter its official stance on the conflict in Ukraine, which currently calls for dialogue to bring the crisis to an end, if Kiev does not immediately correct its “hostile” and “threatening” approach toward the Islamic Republic, an Iranian official has told media affiliated with the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security body.

“If Ukraine’s government fails to officially renounce the hostile statements of Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, this can lead to different reactions by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the official said.

The official noted that Kiev has yet to present any proof whatsoever of its “false” statements about Iran’s alleged provision of arms to Russia to support Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, and said that Podolyak’s tweet may constitute an admission of Kiev’s complicity in Saturday’s drone attack in Isfahan.

“Ukraine’s insistence on threatening Iran’s national security can be the basis for considering a change in the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the conflict in Ukraine, and adopting a new approach that is proportionate to the behavior of the Kiev government,” the official warned.

In the offending tweet, posted Sunday, Podolyak referenced an “explosive night in Iran” following the Isfahan drone attack, and a separate oil refinery fire in the country’s northwest, and stated that “Ukraine did warn you.”

Iran responded by summoning Ukrainian Charge d’Affaires Yevhen Kravchenko to explain the comments.

Iranian media has suggested that Kiev may have to pay a “heavy cost” over Podolyak’s “vindictive” remarks, and accused Ukraine of joining forces with Tel Aviv “in threatening the national security of Iran.”

Kiev and Washington have repeatedly accused Iran of providing Russia with arms assistance, including powerful suicide drones, for its operations in Ukraine. Iranian and Russian officials have consistently dismissed these allegations, with Moscow also pointing to the out-in-the-open delivery of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of NATO military hardware to Ukraine, turning the conflict into a Russia-NATO proxy war.

Isfahan Strike

An ammunition factory in Isfahan, central Iran was attacked by three small off-the-shelf drones close to midnight on Saturday, causing minor damage to the facility's roof.

Iran did not immediately attribute responsibility to any actor or country, but accused “Zionist” social media users and “counterrevolutionary elements” of engaging in information warfare online by trying to link the Isfahan attack to an unrelated industrial accident at an engine oil factory in the Shahid Salimi Industrial City.

Israeli, US, and Gulf media claimed Israeli and/or US involvement in the drone attack. Abbas Moghtadaei, deputy chairman of the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security commission, told Sputnik on Monday that authorities had yet to find any so-called "Israeli trace," but stressed that even if Israel was responsible, its plans had been foiled.

On Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned Washington that Tehran “will not tolerate any aggression against its territory and interests and will respond to aggressors decisively and in a manner that would make them regret their action.” The comments followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks Sunday “every option remains on the table” in countering Iran’s nonexistent nuclear weapons program.

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Ukraine were severely strained late last year after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba threatened to break off relations with the Islamic Republic and pushed to shore up defense ties with Israel, Iran’s arch enemy.