Newly-installed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian begged Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei not to attack Israel and risk causing a region-wide war, Iran International, a London-based media platform for the Iranian opposition, reported.
Anonymous sources told Iran International that the Iranian government is divided on the question of whether to retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, where he was visiting to attend Pezeshkian's inauguration.
Iran and its Supreme Leader have been vowing for the last week to make Israel [pay for the assassination of Haniyeh, which Israel has not claimed responsibility for. In addition, the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Iran's most powerful proxy, has vowed to retaliate for the assassination of one if its most senior leaders, Fuad Shukr, which took place hours before Haniyeh was killed.
Pezeshkian is reportedly concerned that if Iran attack Israel and Israel retaliates, the damage to Iran's infrastructure and economy could be catostrophic and even cause the collapse of the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei reportedly did not signal whether he was swayed by Pezershkian's arguments or whether he still intends to attack Israel.
Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack against Israel in April following the assassination of a high-ranking Iranian general in Syria. This attack consisted of over 300 missiles and attack drones, including ballistic and cruise missiles. Nearly all of the projectiles were shot down by Israel and a coalition of allied nations, including the US and several NATO and Arab nations. An IDF base in southern Israel sustained minor damage, and a seven-year-old Bedouin girl was critically wounded in the attack. The child was recently released from the hospital after three months of treatment.
Israel did not respond in kind to Iran's massive assault in light of American pressure not to retaliate. Instead, it launched a comparitively limited attack on Iran's military base in Isfahan, demonstrating its cabability to strike Iran and evade Iran's aerial defenses without causing a further escalation at the time.