Iranian hardline outlet Raja News suggested Monday that public messaging from US President Donald Trump over Iran could be part of a tactical deception effort, as Iranian media reported explosions in several cities following reported Israeli strikes.
Raja News, an outlet associated with Iran’s hardline camp, raised the possibility that Trump’s reported delay of a strike on Iranian energy infrastructure may itself be a tactical move meant to conceal another military plan. The outlet claimed Iran should remain alert to the possibility that public reports about American decision-making do not reflect actual operational planning.
The claims could not be independently verified.
In separate reporting, Raja News alleged that some attacks on Tehran and Karaj came from the direction of the Caspian Sea and claimed that Azerbaijan may have been used as a route for Israeli drones, small aircraft, or fighter jets entering Iranian airspace. It also claimed that strikes on Tabriz appeared to have come from northern Iraq, while attacks on Khorramabad and Kermanshah were carried out from Iraqi territory due to their proximity to the border.
Azerbaijan has denied allowing its territory or airspace to be used against Iran, according to the same Raja News report, which said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi after the attacks.
Iranian media also reported explosions in Tehran, Karaj, Tabriz, and Isfahan. Mehr News listed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps statement saying targets in Iran had been attacked, and said Tehran described its missile response as a defensive reaction to what it called a ceasefire violation.
Other Iranian outlets carried the Israeli military’s statement that the Israeli Air Force, guided by military intelligence, had struck targets in Tehran and western Iran.
The Raja News posts reflected a broader line in Iranian hardline media in recent days: reports of tension between Washington and Jerusalem should be treated with suspicion, and the US and Israel remain coordinated in their approach toward Iran.
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