Internal divisions within Iran’s government are becoming increasingly visible as the nation faces what its leaders consider a fight for survival, with heated disagreements between hardline and moderate factions erupting over President Masoud Pezeshkian’s commitment to avoid attacking Gulf nations.
The fractures among Iran’s ruling class had been kept under wraps during Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s authoritarian reign, but his death last week has allowed these tensions to surface publicly as American and Israeli military strikes intensify pressure on Tehran.
The continuous military assault poses a deadly threat to the Islamic Republic and has led its most devoted supporters, the Revolutionary Guards, to take on a larger strategic role despite targeted killings that have eliminated numerous high-ranking officers.
Sources with connections to Iran’s leadership, speaking from within the nation, informed Reuters that tensions are becoming apparent among surviving top officials following multiple deaths from the U.S.-Israeli attacks. These sources requested anonymity given the delicate nature of the situation.
Demonstrating the mounting pressure on the government, religious leaders are fast-tracking the selection of a new supreme leader, with a decision potentially coming Sunday — although it remains uncertain whether Khamenei’s replacement will possess sufficient power to resolve internal conflicts.
Although his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, appears to be a leading candidate with support from the Guards and his father’s influential administration, he lacks experience, ranks below most of Iran’s top ayatollahs, and has created friction with moderate elements in the government.
Alternative candidates might find it difficult to maintain the unwavering loyalty of the Guards necessary to preserve order within the system.
“Wartime tends to clarify power structures, and in this case the decisive voice is not that of the civilian leadership but of the IRGC,” explained Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS CRITICIZE PRESIDENT’S POSITION
Pezeshkian’s public regret to Gulf nations regarding a week-long bombardment of their lands — along with his promise to limit such operations — immediately drew criticism from hardliners within the Revolutionary Guards and religious establishment, compelling him to partially reverse his position.
Demonstrating one of the most direct attacks on Pezeshkian — and evidence of internal conflict, hardline religious leader and legislator Hamid Rasai publicly addressed the president on social media, stating: “your stance was unprofessional, weak and unacceptable.”
When the president later reiterated his previous statement on social media, he omitted the apology that had infuriated the Guards and other hardliners — representing a humiliating backtrack.
While all top officials within the government remain committed to protecting the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary religious system from American and Israeli attacks, obvious disagreements exist regarding their tactical methods.
Iran’s leadership has occasionally emphasized differences between hardliners and moderates as a negotiating tool with Western nations, but the conflict over Pezeshkian’s Saturday statement revealed authentic divisions, according to two high-level sources.
A hardliner with ties to Khamenei’s administration, which continues as a key power center, told Reuters that Pezeshkian’s remarks had frustrated many top Guard commanders.
Another high-ranking Iranian source, a moderate former government official, stated that no one could replace Khamenei, characterizing the deceased leader as a skilled strategist who had guided Iran through numerous challenging times.
As worry grows within Iran’s leadership circles, prominent ayatollahs have begun publicly calling for the religious council responsible for choosing a supreme leader to speed up its deliberations.
“It should expedite the process so that it leads to the disappointment of the enemy and the preservation of the unity and solidarity of the nation,” Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani declared in a statement published by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
TENSIONS VISIBLE EVEN IN HIGHEST GOVERNMENT BODY
Under Iran’s distinctive political structure, an elected president, administration and legislature answer to a religiously appointed ayatollah who holds ultimate power as supreme leader and directly supervises the Revolutionary Guards and other influential state institutions.
During his 36-year tenure, Khamenei frequently pitted hardline and moderate groups within the ruling apparatus against one another while maintaining final authority, permitting them to express disagreements as long as they accepted his decisions.
Following his death, authority officially transferred to a constitutionally required temporary council including Pezeshkian, the religious head of the court system and another cleric from a hardline organization known as the Guardian Council.
Without Khamenei’s presence, tensions are emerging even within that close-knit group, with the judiciary leader, prominent hardliner Ayatollah Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, stating that certain regional countries had permitted their land to be used for attacks.
“Heavy strikes on those targets will continue,” he declared, opposing Pezeshkian’s more diplomatic approach.
Nevertheless, although Khamenei did occasionally permit moderate or reformist positions to prevail in disagreements with hardliners, they were typically overruled when the system appeared to face danger.
