The senior adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, took to Twitter Sunday to mock Iran after it suffered an apparently devastating drone attack at a weapons facility in Isfahan, saying that "Ukraine did warn you."
War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly.Panic in RF - endless mobilization, missile defense in Moscow, trenches 1000 km away, bomb shelters preparation.Explosive night in Iran - drone & missile production, oil refineries. did warn you
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 29, 2023
As evidence of this apparent warning, Podolyak included a screenshot in the Ukrainian version of his tweet - but not in the English one – of a tweet he made on December 24, 2022.
The tweet in question said the following:
"Iran, planning to boose missile, drone supplies for Russia, blatantly humiliates the institutions of international sanctions.. Important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, & move to more destructive tools – liquidation of plants, arrest of suppliers."
Iran, planning to boost missile, drone supplies for Russia, blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions…Important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, & move to more destructive tools – liquidation of plants, arrest of suppliers…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 24, 2022
The implication seems to be that Ukraine warned that someone would attempt to destroy the plants and other weapons facilities.
What happened in Iran?
Over the weekend, an Iranian Defense Ministry facility was reportedly struck in an explosion via drone.
Officially, Iran says the attack failed. However, sources and videos circulating online have indicated that the attack was far more successful than the Islamic Republic admits.
There were four explosions at the site, which can even be witnessed on social media, against a facility developing advanced weapons, and the damage goes far beyond the "minor roof damage" that the Islamic Republic is claiming and which it has falsely claimed before also in other incidents in recent years.
Israel is playing the incident mum, but most Western intelligence and Iranian sources have credited the Mossad with similarly successful attacks against Iran's Natanz nuclear facility in July 2020, a different Natanz nuclear facility in April 2021, another nuclear facility at Karaj in June 2021 and with destroying around 120 or more Iranian drones in February 2022.
There are also few organizations globally besides the Mossad which are reported to have the sort of advanced and surgical strike capabilities displayed in the operation.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.