Russia has urged Iran to avoid civilian casualties as it considers its response to Israel’s alleged assassination of a Hamas terrorist leader, rather than simply calling for de-escalation.

“Putin’s wish to minimize Israeli civilian casualties is driven by pragmatism,” , a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” explained to 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 encourage a measured response when Iran retaliates against Israel, who Tehran holds responsible for the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. 

Iranian leaders have vowed to retaliate, telling Arab diplomats on Saturday that they do not care if their response leads to war, according to .

The U.S. has requested that its European and other partners convey a message to Iran not to escalate tensions, emphasizing that any major strike would provoke 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.

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

Iran also urged Russia to deliver Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, two sources familiar with the meeting told Reuters. They had no other details to provide about the meeting with Shoigu, but emphasized that Russia has urged restraint in various ways while acknowledging that the killing was a “very dangerous assassination.” 

The mood within Iran remains mixed as the government wishes to retaliate for such a brazen attack on the Hamas leader within its own borders while also concerned about a wider regional conflict, which has been on the brink for months. 

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

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.”

Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.