Iran considered launching a ballistic missile strike on one of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. The New York Times (NYT) reported this citing Iranian and Western officials.
According to the publication, Tehran was planning this step in response to an attack on an Iranian ship. However, as a result of diplomatic efforts, tensions between the parties decreased and a possible escalation was prevented.
Based on intelligence, Iran planned to launch a ballistic missile to deliver a "symbolic strike" that would cause relatively limited damage to Ukraine. According to sources, the likely target was one of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
The New York Times notes that launching a ballistic missile from Iranian territory at Ukraine could have sharply increased tensions between the two countries and led to a wider conflict.
The article states that Iranian officials thought the confrontation would end after the retaliatory strike. However, Western officials stressed that it was impossible to predict in advance how Ukraine would respond to such an attack.
The Iranian and Ukrainian sides have not yet made an official statement regarding this.