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Iran’s new president is battling against the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in an attempt to prevent all-out war with Israel, The Telegraph has learned.

Tehran’s authorities are divided over how to respond to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, in the Iranian capital on July 31.

Top generals within the IRGC are insisting on a direct strike on Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, focusing on military bases to avoid civilian casualties.

But Masoud Pezeshkian, the newly elected president and a comparative moderate who defeated the IRGC’s candidate in elections last month, has suggested targeting secret Israeli bases in Iran’s neighbouring countries.

Iran has previously targeted what it refers to as “spy bases” of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The IRGC has been trying to undermine Mr Pezeshkian in its pursuit of a more aggressive retaliation against Israel, aides of the president told The Telegraph.

“Mr Pezeshkian fears that any direct attack on Israel would have serious consequences,” said a close aide to the president.

“He mentioned that we were lucky that Iran did not go to an all-out war with Israel last time and maybe not this time,” they added, referring to the April 13 attack when Iran fired more than 300 suicide drones and missiles at Israel.

Tehran’s attack came after a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate on April 1 killed seven high-ranking members of the IRGC.

On Thursday morning, a bout of gun-firing on Iran’s western border prompted Egyptian and British airlines to suspend flights over the country.

It sparked fears an attack could be coming in that time window.

“These recent exercises in the country’s western border are just to intimidate Mr Pezeshkian. Sepah [the IRGC] is very insistent on targeting Israel and they think it is easy,” a second aide to Mr Pezeshkian told The Telegraph.

“He has suggested targeting somewhere related to Israel in the Republic of Azerbaijan or [Iraqi] Kurdistan and let these countries know before that and get done with the whole drama.”