Cracks in Iran's ruling establishment came into sharper view tonight
By Bernie,
Cracks in Iran's ruling establishment came into sharper view tonight, as a coordinated public messaging push from the regime's top officials aimed at projecting unity was followed hours later by conflicting reports that Iran's lead negotiator had been forced off the delegation.
In what appeared to be a coordinated response to U.S. President Donald Trump's earlier statement that the Iranian government is "seriously fractured," the heads of Iran's three branches, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, posted near-identical messages on social media within minutes of one another, insisting there are no "extremists" or "moderates" in Iran and vowing to "make the criminal aggressor regret it." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed the line, writing that "the battlefield and diplomacy are fully coordinated fronts in the same war."
Less than an hour later, Israeli outlet Channel 12 reported that Ghalibaf, who has led Tehran's delegation in the Islamabad talks with the United States, had resigned from the negotiating team following an "intervention" by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A writer for The Atlantic disputed the report, saying Ghalibaf has not been removed from the delegation and that the Israeli reporting is false. BNN was not able to independently verify either account.
The reports followed earlier reporting that some Israeli and American officials believe Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is not functioning in his role, is not issuing orders, and does not control the country. One source stated that in practice, Iran is currently controlled by the IRGC and its commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who was appointed after the assassination of Mohammad Pakpour at the start of Operation Roaring Lion. Iran International previously reported that Ghalibaf has been locked in a sharp internal struggle with Vahidi and hardline figures including former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, whom Ghalibaf accused of trying to "destroy Iran" by sabotaging negotiations.
Topics: Iran, Diplomacy
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