Putin asks Iran to postpone Israel strike, offers to mediate

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a personal letter to Iran’s leaders asking them to refrain from military action against Israel while he attempts to mediate between the two countries, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The letter was hand-delivered by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who arrived in Tehran on Monday.

Shoigu is slated to meet the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri.

He also will meet new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the news agency Interfax reported.

Iran has declared that it will retaliate against Israel for the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, widely attributed to the intelligence services of the Jewish State. Israel has made no official comment on the killing.

Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards died in an explosion at a secure guesthouse for foreign dignitaries, under circumstances that remain unexplained. Haniyeh was attending the inauguration of President Pezeshkian.

Hours earlier, an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, a close Iranian ally. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that it would inflict a “severe punishment” on Israel “at the appropriate time, place and manner.”

According to the New York Times, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, directed Iran’s armed forces to attack Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Haniyeh.

There is widespread speculation about possible Iranian actions as well as Israel’s potential response. On April 13, Iran launched over 300 projectiles at Israel. Almost all were shot down by a combination of Israeli and American air defenses.

Russia’s