Iranian President tries to deter IRGC from attacking Israel – “The Telegraph”

Iran's new President, Massoud Pezeshkian, is trying to persuade the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ayatollah Khamenei to refrain from a direct attack on Israel out of fear that the response from Israel and the world community would be so devastating as to jeopardize the existence of the Iranian regime.

Pezeshkian calls to limit attacks to "secret Mosad facilities" outside Israel, while the IRGC leadership wants to strike Israeli military bases in the center of the country, primarily in Tel Aviv. This was reported by the British newspaper "The Telegraph" on 8 August.

Pezeshkian fears that any direct attack on Israel would have serious consequences," said a close aide to the President. - 'In his view, we are lucky that Iran did not go to full-scale war with Israel last time and probably won't this time'."

 The new President's entourage does not rule out that the IRGC is interested in using military escalation to undermine the authority of Pezeshkian, who is seen as a relatively moderate leader seeking to improve relations with the West.

According to the Presidential aide who spoke to "The Telegraph" from Tehran, "the IRGC's insistence on Israel is more aimed at undermining his Presidency than covering up the humiliation they have suffered," he said.

In his words, "it is possible to target Israeli-related facilities in Azerbaijan or Kurdistan," or to provide Hezbollah with modern weapons for a war with Israel and thus compensate for Tehran's humiliation.

A close associate of Pezeshkian added that the latter "does not feel humiliated by the fact that the elimination of Haniyeh took place hours after he was sworn in."

Iran has not yet decided how to react to the liquidation of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The final decision on this issue must be adopted by Ayatollah Khamenei, who has previously threatened Israel with "severe punishment."

According to some assessments, the Iranian authorities' initial anger at Israel is gradually losing its edge, especially amid suspicions of internal treachery on the part of IRGC officials who allegedly facilitated Haniyeh's assassination.

Besides, Iran fears for its nuclear project, which could be the target of a retaliatory strike by Israel and the international coalition if the conflict escalates to major regional war.