Senior Israeli security officials believe Iran’s leadership is deeply divided over whether to bring Israel into the current conflict, as an apparent power vacuum at the top of the regime complicates Tehran’s decision-making.

According to Israeli security assessments, the reported disappearance of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei from public view has left Iran without clear leadership during a critical phase of the conflict. Officials say his absence has significantly weakened his influence over real-time military and political decisions.

Israeli officials also point to the reported killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as another major factor fueling the internal turmoil. Larijani was widely viewed as a key power broker who could bridge the gap between hardliners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other factions within the regime.

The reported leadership vacuum comes as the United States continues its eighth consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets while massing hundreds of aircraft throughout the Middle East. Dozens of additional aircraft, including aerial refueling tankers, have arrived in Israel over the past 48 hours.

Against that backdrop, Israeli security officials believe Iran’s leadership is engaged in an intense debate over whether to begin targeting Israel directly, as it has Jordan and Gulf states, or to keep Israel out of the current campaign to avoid triggering a full-scale Israeli military response.

The closest Iran has come to directly threatening Israel occurred when four ballistic missiles were launched toward Aqaba, Jordan. The Israeli Air Force fired two Iron Dome interceptors to prevent debris from falling inside Israel.

Following that incident, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned that the Israeli military is fully prepared to resume large-scale combat should Iran attack Israel.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)