DUBAI – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is passing on its satellite observations in the Middle East to Iran to enable it to direct strikes in the region. “Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and US military facilities located there. These images subsequently appear in Iran,” Zelensky says in comments on X. “At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes – both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemns a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Tehran describes the incident as an “act of aggression” and says it would defend its national interests and security, while accusing Ukraine of seeking to expand its war with Russia. Ukraine’s forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea, President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier Saturday. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad says Iran sold $11.5 billion worth of oil during the war and a further $6.5 billion during a ceasefire, when lower risks to tanker traffic helped increase exports and enabled the sale of part of around 100 million barrels of stored crude oil and gas condensate.The sales generated more than 60 percent of the oil revenue forecast in Iran’s annual budget, Paknejad says.
