Divisions at the top of Iranian power are intensifying around ongoing negotiations with the United States, according to information published by the New York Times. While some officials are pleading for a rapid agreement to avoid a worsening of the economic crisis, the most radical factions continue to demand a hard line against Washington.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian himself criticized state television, controlled by conservatives, this week, accusing it of fueling internal divisions and presenting the negotiations as a failure. “Even Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei accepted that we should sit at the negotiating table,” he said. “And now we are explaining to the public that we should not negotiate. HAS”
On Friday, several thousand supporters of the radical camp gathered in Tehran to demand the continuation of the confrontation with the United States. The chairman of the parliamentary committee on National Security, Ebrahim Azizi, said that “Trump must understand that it is Iran, victorious on the battlefield, which sets the conditions.”
According to the American daily, tensions also affect the highest levels of the regime. Even Supreme Guide Mojtaba Khamenei would be the subject of criticism from certain ultraconservative clerics and parliamentarians.
Two Iranian officials also revealed the existence of clashes within the Supreme National Security Council. According to them, Ali Bagheri Kani, a figure in the radical camp, would have tried to weaken the team responsible for negotiations with Washington by asking the Supreme Guide to impose stricter limits on the discussions.
Conversely, Pezeshkian and the President of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, would have sent a joint letter to Mojtaba Khamenei to alert her to the seriousness of the economic situation. They reportedly warned of a major budget crisis and the risk of new mass protests if no deal was reached with the United States.
These revelations illustrate the extent of the internal struggles currently affecting the Iranian regime at a decisive moment in negotiations with Washington.
