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

Russia has stoked tensions in the Middle East by asking Iran to avoid civilian casualties as it mulls its response to Israel’s alleged assassination of a Hamas terrorist leader – rather than urging Iran to outright avoid escalation.

"Putin’s wish to minimize Israeli civilian casualties is driven by pragmatism," Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of "Putin’s Playbook," explained to Fox News Digital. 

"There are 1.2 million Russian and former Soviet émigrés living in Israel now, a large pool of expatriates who have families in Russia and whom Putin would love to get back to their ‘motherland,’" Koffler explained. 

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

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Iranian leaders have pledged to retaliate, telling Arab diplomats on Saturday that it does not matter to them if the response led to a war, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A picture made available 17 October 2007 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meeting with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in Tehran, 16 October 2007. On the wall is a portrait of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "Vladimir Putin will remain national leader, regardless of the post that he holds," wrote Boris Gryzlov, head of the ruling United Russia party, in the 17 October 2007 government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.     MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP via Getty Images (MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. requested that partner governments in Europe and elsewhere convey a message to Iran not to escalate tensions, stressing that any significant strike would illicit a response and that new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's efforts to improve relations with the West would be better received if Iran shows restraint, according to the report.

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Putin, however, has simply asked that Iran make a measured response, according to Reuters. Russian Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu delivered the message on Monday in a meeting with top Iranian officials. 

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

Iran also urged Russia to deliver Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, two sources privy to the meeting told Reuters. They had no other details to provide on the meeting with Shoigu, but stressed that Russia has urged restraint in various ways while admitting that the killing was a "very dangerous assassination." 

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The mood within Iran remains conflicted as the government wishes to retaliate for such a brazen attack on the Hamas leader within the country’s own borders and concerns of a wider conflict in the region, which has remained on the brink for months. 

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

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi visited Tehran on his first trip to Iran since 2005, but he has not made the desired impact – even after telling leaders that his country will not allow Iranian missiles to pass through Jordanian airspace, The Jerusalem Post reported. 

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The Guardian reports that Iran feels an obligation to punish Israel for Haniyeh’s death, even convening a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday, where it will push its right to seek revenge.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday told reporters that Washington has urged countries to impress upon Iran "that it is very much not in their interest to launch another attack on Israel."

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.