Iran’s newly elected president is reportedly fighting with hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders to rein in the scale of Tehran’s retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last month.
The IRGC’s top generals, hellbent on revenge over the killing in Tehran of the terror group’s top political leader, are pushing for the Islamic Republic to launch direct missile strikes on military bases in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, The Independent reported.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, a relative moderate who trounced the IRGC’s candidate in last month’s elections, is looking to avoid slipping into a full-blown war with the Jewish state, and instead wants to target hidden bases of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency located in countries surrounding Iran.
“He has suggested targeting somewhere related to Israel in the Republic of Azerbaijan or [Iraqi] Kurdistan and let these countries know before that and get done with the whole drama,” a Pezeshkian aide told the outlet.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will have the ultimate say on how Tehran responds to the July 31 assassination, which embarrassed the Islamic Republic and raised questions about its security capabilities inside its own borders.
Haniyeh, who had been in Tehran to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration, was killed by bombs the Mossad reportedly had smuggled months earlier into the IRGC guest house where he had been staying.
Khamenei in the hours after Haniyeh’s death threatened hit Israel with “harsh punishment,” calling it Tehran’s “duty.”
An IRGC official told The Independent the group’s members have been discussing how to undermine Pezeshkian’s efforts for the looming retaliation.
“The number one consideration is still striking Tel Aviv with Hezbollah and others at the same time,” the official said.
“There has been discussion within the forces on how to block Mr. Pezeshkian’s efforts. Almost everyone believes what he is insisting on is not in the revolution’s reputation.”
