Hinting at rifts within the top layer of Iranian leadership, a report has emerged in Israeli media stating that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted in a closed conversation that he was being completely excluded from military and strategic decisions.
This comes days after allegations that the President was considering resigning after the dramatic assassinations of the de facto leader and National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary force leaders.
The President admitted in private that he was not part of the strategic discussions. “I am not involved in any military matter or what they are planning,” according to a report that appeared in Hebrew media Channel 14. "I am cut off from the leader, and they don't let me do anything," he described his disgust with the given situation: "I feel useless. I have nothing to do here.”
Earlier, there were reports that Pezeshkian is considering resigning because he feels that the “entire system is crumbling” following the Israeli assassinations.
The Channel 14 report quoted sources who described the president's unusual anger at the Revolutionary Guards. Pezeshkian see the IRGC’s conduct as reckless and claimed they did nothing to protect Larijani.
According to the same sources, Larijani was seen as the main threat to Ahmad Vahidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and therefore removing him from the scene served their interests.
This comes amid reports that since the assassination of Khamenei Sr., the Iranian system has been divided into two clear camps. On the one hand, the camp of Mojtaba Khamenei, and on the other hand, those who backed Larijani.
Pezeshkian’s televised apology to Gulf states for recent missile strikes had also triggered fierce criticism from hardliners. The Revolutionary Guards commanders and clerics had called the remarks “weak, unprofessional, and publicly unacceptable.”