{"id":5362,"date":"2026-07-25T21:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5362"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T21:09:02","slug":"irans-leaders-turn-on-each-other-as-hardliners-push-for-wider-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5362","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s leaders turn on each other as hardliners push for wider conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Iran\u2019s leaders are fighting each other almost as much as they\u2019re battling the West, with some senior politicians scrambling to save US talks while the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leans into the renewed war, regional sources told The Post.<\/p>\n

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With Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei out of public view, there\u2019s no one left to force the rival factions back into line \u2014 meaning the future of the conflict may now be decided by a power struggle in Tehran, not by Washington.<\/p>\n

The growing divide has exposed what the sources describe as two competing centers of power inside Tehran: civilian leaders trying to preserve a fragile diplomatic track and military hardliners determined to keep up pressure through confrontation.<\/p>\n

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf want to keep dialogue with the US alive and prevent the fighting from spiraling into another full-scale regional war, the sources said.<\/p>\n

But their authority has steadily eroded, one regional source familiar with Iran\u2019s internal dynamics told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can sign [agreements], but they can\u2019t stop the IRGC from acting or parliament from legislating around them,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n

Instead of winning internal political battles, the IRGC has increasingly created \u201cfacts on the ground\u201d through military action, the source said, while hardline lawmakers move afterward to enshrine those actions into law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardliners don\u2019t need to win internal arguments,\u201d the source said. \u201cThey create facts on the ground \u2026 and get parliament to legalize them after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shift is real \u2014 now it\u2019s becoming law, which is much harder to reverse.\u201d<\/p>\n

That distinction \u2014 between the politicians publicly speaking about diplomacy and the security establishment making decisions on the battlefield \u2014 is key, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies\u2019 Iran Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there are politicians who occasionally come out, including even Iran\u2019s foreign minister, who talk about dialogue,\u201d Taleblu told The Post. \u201cBut those driving the train, those with their finger on the trigger, those making some of the most important decisions continue to talk and act like escalation is what will secure their survival, not engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Tehran has historically balanced diplomacy and military pressure simultaneously, Taleblu said recent events suggest the regime is increasingly betting on confrontation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is obviously a divide in Iran,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we have to make sure that when we look at the divide, we pay attention to who matters and what matters \u2014 and who and what matter seem to be doubling down on escalation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The widening split has become increasingly visible in recent weeks, the source said.<\/p>\n

During the funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the front rows were filled with IRGC members rather than civilian officials, underscoring the military\u2019s growing influence, according to the source.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, several televised speeches by Iran\u2019s political leadership have been partially edited before broadcast instead of running live \u2014 raising further questions about who controls the country\u2019s public messaging, the person added.<\/p>\n

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But the IRGC has its talons in almost every institution in Tehran, with the Iranian parliament also moving to undercut the diplomatic track.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers backed a measure with roughly 180 of the chamber\u2019s 290 members declaring the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding effectively dead, while separately advancing legislation introduced by lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi titled the \u201cStrategic Action for the Security and Sustainable Progress of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taleblu argued the regime appears convinced war still benefits them despite suffering heavy military losses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey believe there are real barriers to escalation by Trump, and that there are real gains to be had by escalation,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who transgressed on the MOU. They\u2019re the ones who believe every time America responds, they have the right to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n

That divide became increasingly apparent Tuesday, when senior Iranian political figures went to mediator Pakistan in an attempt to keep diplomatic channels open.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want mediation,\u201d a regional source told The Post \u2014 adding that the civilian leadership may become more powerful now that the \u201cIRGC knows that it won\u2019t get weapons from any other market anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ordinarily, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei would be expected to settle such an internal dispute \u2014 but he hasn\u2019t been seen publicly since the Feb. 28 bombing that killed his father and placed him in power, appearing only through written statements rather than speeches, televised appearances or even family funerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if he ever does come out of hiding \u2014 or if it\u2019s proven that he does really exist \u2014 he would be able to rally some of the Islamic Republic\u2019s factions just by virtue of having survived against all odds,\u201d Taleblu said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat being said, the fact that he didn\u2019t come out for his father\u2019s funeral, the fact that he hasn\u2019t been seen in so long as the country\u2019s new supreme leader, tells you a lot more about who is pulling the strings,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The supreme leader\u2019s absence has fueled uncertainty over who is truly directing Iran\u2019s strategic decision-making, while leaving rival factions with greater room to pursue competing agendas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no one left to force the two sides into alignment,\u201d one of the sources said.<\/p>\n

Washington should not mistake diplomatic rhetoric from Iranian politicians for a shift in the regime\u2019s underlying strategy, Taleblu warned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a question of whether we\u2019re speaking to the wrong people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a question of what speaking gets you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei out of public view, there’s no one left to force the rival factions back into line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nIran's leaders turn on each other as hardliners push for wider conflict - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran's leaders turn on each other as hardliners push for wider conflict - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei out of public view, there's no one left to force the rival factions back into line.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-25T21:09:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Iran’s leaders turn on each other as hardliners push for wider conflict\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T21:09:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362\"},\"wordCount\":978,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0282dc50625eedd2313a330e17089a44.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"World News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5362\",\"name\":\"Iran's leaders turn on each other as hardliners push for wider conflict - 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