2024-08-13 02:34:39
Tehran: Iran has vowed to take revenge from Israel after the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil. However, two factions seem to be emerging in Iran in favor and opposition of the attack on Israel. One of these is President Masoud Pezeshkian and the other is of the powerful senior commanders of the IRGC. According to a report in The Telegraph, the Iranian government is divided on how to retaliate against Israel. The deadlock between Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has put Iran’s response in limbo for the time being.
According to the report, the IRGC is of the opinion that direct missile attacks should be carried out on Tel Aviv and other major Israeli cities. On the other hand, Pezeshkian, who recently assumed the presidency, is advising to avoid such aggression. Pezeshkian is in favor of attacking Mossad bases located outside Israel in neighboring areas such as Azerbaijan and Iraqi Kurdistan. He argues that this reduces the risk of a full-scale war with Israel. He believes that going into a full-blown war with Israel could cause heavy losses to Iran. A person close to Pezeshkian told The Telegraph that the president fears that any direct attack on Israel would start a full-blown war and have serious consequences.
IRGC does not like the President’s advice!
The president’s advice is not going down well with the IRGC. An IRGC official told The Telegraph that his organization has rejected the president’s advice to take a restrained approach. The IRGC is still in favor of attacking Tel Aviv in collaboration with Hezbollah and other proxies. Ismail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, has also supported immediate and decisive retaliation. Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei has to take the final decision in this regard.
Pezeshkian is having difficulty asserting his authority over the IRGC. According to a close ally of Pezeshkian, the IRGC’s push for an aggressive response is more likely to be an attempt to undermine the newly inaugurated president rather than avenging the humiliation of Haniya’s killing.