Putin urges Iran to avoid civilian casualties in retaliation against Israel while arming Tehran

Russia has stoked tensions in the Middle East by calling on Iran to avoid civilian casualties as it considers its response to Israel’s alleged assassination of a Hamas terrorist leader — rather than urging Iran to avoid escalation altogether.

“Putin’s desire to minimize Israeli civilian casualties is motivated by pragmatism,” Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News Digital.

“There are 1.2 million Russian and former Soviet émigrés currently living in Israel, a large number of expats who have family in Russia and whom Putin would like to see return to their ‘motherland,'” Koffler explained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached out to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to deploy a moderate response when the attack hits Israel, which Tehran holds responsible for the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

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Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate, telling Arab diplomats on Saturday that they do not care if the response leads to war, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A photo released on October 17, 2007 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in Tehran, October 16, 2007. On the wall is a portrait of the late founder of the Iranian revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. “Vladimir Putin will remain the national leader, no matter what position he holds,” Boris Gryzlov, head of the ruling United Russia party, wrote in the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on October 17, 2007. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP via Getty Images (MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States has asked partner governments in Europe and elsewhere to send a message to Iran not to escalate tensions, stressing that any significant strike would provoke a response and that efforts by new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to improve relations with the West would be better received if Iran exercised restraint, the report said.

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According to Reuters, Putin simply asked Iran to respond with restraint. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu conveyed this message on Monday during a meeting with senior Iranian officials.

Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asian News Agency/Reuters)

Iran also urged Russia to deliver Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, two sources familiar with the meeting told Reuters. They did not give further details of the meeting with Shoigu, but stressed that Russia had called for restraint in various ways while admitting that the assassination was a “very dangerous assassination.”

Israel faces ‘ring of fire’ as Iran vows retaliation

The mood in Iran remains conflicted, as the government seeks to retaliate for such a brazen attack on the Hamas leader within the country’s borders and fears of a wider conflict in the region, which has been on the brink for months, run high.

Iranians burn a representation of the Israeli flag during the funeral ceremony of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on August 1, 2024, in Tehran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi visited Tehran on his first trip to Iran since 2005, but failed to make the desired impact – even after telling leaders his country would not allow Iranian missiles to cross Jordanian airspace, The Jerusalem Post reported.

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The Guardian reports that Iran feels compelled to punish Israel for Haniyeh’s death, even calling a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday, where it will assert its right to revenge.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Monday that Washington had urged countries to make clear to Iran “that it is absolutely not in its interest to launch another attack on Israel.”

Landon Mion of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.