The report recalled what went down at the funeral of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to CNN, the faction believed that instead of avenging Khamenei’s killing, Iranian officials had surrendered by signing an agreement that defies the orders of current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
They accused the Iranian leadership, those representing the country while Khamenei remains in hiding, of plotting to consolidate power by suspending parliament.
Without access to the new supreme leader, hardliners feel unhappy with the government.
But just weeks before the hostility reignited, hardliners turned their fury on the leaders who signed the deal with the US.
As the US-Iran war continues to escalate, reports are emerging that Tehran is witnessing a major power struggle between hardline factions and the country’s moderate leadership. According to a CNN report, the radicals in the West Asian nation are accusing its leadership of orchestrating a “soft coup” after they agreed to the 14-point deal with the US.
The report recalled what went down at the funeral of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s top diplomat who negotiated a ceasefire with the Trump administration, along with his team, was forced to flee the funeral after a mob pelted him with rocks.
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Chants of “death to the compromiser” and “traitorous sellout" took over the mourning site as the hardliners expressed their discontent with the deal. The hostility directed at top Iranian officials reflected a major crack in the country’s political landscape. According to CNN, the faction believed that instead of avenging Khamenei’s killing, Iranian officials had surrendered by signing an agreement that defies the orders of current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
They accused the Iranian leadership, those representing the country while Khamenei remains in hiding, of plotting to consolidate power by suspending parliament. “Warning to the people of Iran: Is a coup on the way??” Mahmoud Nabavian, an outspoken radical lawmaker, asked on X days before Khamenei’s funeral. “In these moments of farewell to the martyred Imam (Khamenei), we raise the banner of vengeance for his blood and stand firm against the coup,” he wrote days later.
No access to the Supreme Leader
It is pertinent to note that in Mojtaba’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Pezeshkian and Araghchi have become the most visible players in post-war Iran. Without access to the new supreme leader, hardliners feel unhappy with the government.
“Mojtaba’s continued absence means that they don’t have access to him and also that Ghalibaf and allies are effectively in charge of the country… the ultra-hardliners have thus accused Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian of plotting a ‘coup’ against Mojtaba,” Arash Azizi, a US-based Iran expert and author of the book “What Iranians Want,” told CNN.
The hardliners used Khamenei’s funeral as an occasion to amplify demands to avenge their leaders through renewed war with Washington and to declare their rejection of any agreement with Trump. With both sides targeting each other recently, their wish now appears to be getting fulfilled.
But just weeks before the hostility reignited, hardliners turned their fury on the leaders who signed the deal with the US. “President, if the leader’s conditions are not fulfilled, then it will be us, the blade and your throat,” Mohammad Ali Bakhshi, a security-linked “Maddah” – or religious singer who is loyal to the Iranian regime – warned Pezeshkian during a ceremony. “We will bring hell upon you.”
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While the open threat to kill the president of Iran was widely criticised, Bakhshi is not known to have faced any legal repercussions as of now. Other hardliners targeted Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard commander.
“They are trying to elevate the role of the Supreme Council for National Security while diminishing the role of the supreme leader and parliament,” Kamran Ghazanfari, a hardline parliamentarian, said in a video statement in early July, referring to the council now deciding the country’s most sensitive wartime affairs. “This is the political coup they have designed and are carrying out step by step.” Overall, Iran struggles to maintain unity within the nation while it clashes with the United States.
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