DLN Staff

Mullahs divided: Iran's hardliners attack each other

In Iran, there is resistance to the negotiations of Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf with the USA

Tehran – After the first air strikes at the beginning of the Iran war, the Iranian leadership initially appeared to be united. But a few weeks after the start of the ceasefire, tensions within the power apparatus of the Islamic Republic are now coming to light: According to a report in the Financial Times, rival camps within the radical Islamic leadership are wrestling over how the regime should position itself in the future – especially in negotiations with the US on a lasting peace.

At the center is a group of hardliners who reject talks with the United States. Their criticism is mainly directed at Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf (64), who negotiated with US Vice President JD Vance (41) in Pakistan at the beginning of April. Politicians of the ultra-conservative Paydari faction accuse the Iranian negotiators of not adhering to the instructions of the new "Supreme Leader" Khamenei Mojtaba.

The Paydari faction is considered ultra-conservative – even other hardliners often go too far. It was created in 2011 in the entourage of the then President Ahmad Ahmadinejad. Even for mullahs who are considered "conservative" within the system, it often overstretches the bow. The parliamentary group is influential in parliament and repeatedly causes disputes.

Dispute in parliament

MP Mahmoud Nabavian (61) said negotiations were "pure damage" and should be avoided. He also described the inclusion of the nuclear program as a "strategic mistake." At the same time, 261 of the 290 MPs publicly backed Ghalibaf and the negotiating delegation.

Iranian MP Mahmoud Nabavian (61) of the Paydari faction is against the negotiations with the US

Mystery about new chief mullah

Additional uncertainty arises because the new "Supreme Leader" Mojtaba Khamenei has not yet appeared in public. Khamenei Jr. is said to have been wounded in the Israeli-American attacks at the beginning of the war, in which his father and predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. Israeli intelligence officials even assume that he is dead.

In any case, it is unclear whether the Ayatollah's successor is capable of governing at all and is in any way involved in Iran's preliminary consultations for negotiations with the US. For the USA, too, it does not seem to be completely clear who is currently in charge in Iran. US President Donald Trump speaks of "great confusion" in the Iranian leadership.