Putin urges Iran to avoid civilian casualties in Israel retaliation while arming Tehran

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely has asked Iran to avoid civilian casualties due to the high number of Russian Jews living in Israel, which could hurt his tenuous position back home.

Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news. 

"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 deploy a restrained response when it hits Israel, whom Tehran holds responsible for the death of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.