Iran’s unseen supreme leader becomes weapon in escalating power struggle, experts say

Iran’s rival governmental factions are progressively invoking the authorization of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to onslaught their opponents and support their ain positions, adjacent arsenic questions persist implicit whether helium is actively governing the country, according to an Iran expert.

The interior conflict surfaced successful 2 reports published by Iran International concerning Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s narration with the caller ultimate leader.

In the archetypal report, elder cleric Mohammad-Bagher Kharrazi, a comparative of the Khamenei household by marriage, claimed Pezeshkian had repeatedly threatened to resign and was warned that his adjacent resignation would beryllium accepted.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks with Fox News Channel's Martha MacCallum during an interrogation connected September 25, 2025 successful New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

"If helium resigns 1 much time, I volition o.k. it," Kharrazi quoted Khamenei arsenic saying.

Pezeshkian’s bureau powerfully deniedthe account. Mehdi Tabatabaei, the president’s lawman for communications and information, called the allegation "baseless and an outright lie," portion different statesmanlike advisor said Kharrazi had nary interaction with the ultimate person and was known for telling "strange stories."

Hours later, Iran International published a 2nd study alleging Pezeshkian had met Mojtaba Khamenei lone once, wrong a conveyance with tinted windows astatine an undisclosed determination successful Tehran.

According to the outlet’s unnamed sources, the brushwood lasted respective minutes, the 2 men could not spot each different and Pezeshkian was not permitted to shingle Khamenei’s hand. The study alleged that the president aboriginal questioned whether the dependable helium heard had really belonged to the ultimate leader.

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Reformist campaigner for the Iran's statesmanlike predetermination Masoud Pezeshkian waves arsenic helium arrives to ballot astatine a polling presumption successful Shahr-e-Qods adjacent Tehran, Iran, connected July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The claims person not been independently verified. Pezeshkian antecedently described a substantially antithetic encounter, saying publically that helium had spent astir 2 and a fractional hours with Khamenei successful a cordial atmosphere.

Kasra Aarabi, manager of IRGC probe astatine United Against Nuclear Iran, said the competing claims surrounding Pezeshkian and Mojtaba Khamenei reflected a deeper conflict wrong what helium described arsenic an "Islamist oligarchic mafia system."

Under Ali Khamenei, Aarabi said, the ultimate person functioned arsenic the system’s "godfather," arbitrating among rival Islamist factions and guaranteeing their entree to powerfulness and money. His removal created a vacuum that Mojtaba Khamenei’s assignment was intended to fill, but the caller ultimate leader’s prolonged nationalist lack has near rival factions uncertain astir who is really successful charge.

"The precise essence of this mafia strategy is built connected a godfather," Aarabi said. "If the godfather is absent, whether due to the fact that helium is severely incapacitated oregon nonexistent, that vacuum … re-emerges betwixt the assorted Islamist oligarchic clans."

Aarabi said those factions are not chiefly divided by ideology.

"They’re not competing implicit ideology," helium said. "They’re competing implicit earthy powerfulness and economical interests."

In that environment, Aarabi said, Mojtaba Khamenei’s sanction has go a governmental instrumentality that competing factions tin invoke to legitimize themselves, constrain their rivals oregon warrant decisions whose existent root remains unclear.

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People clasp placards with an representation of Iran's caller ultimate person Mojtaba Khamenei with precocious Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a gathering to enactment Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran, successful Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) Via Reuters)

"Mojtaba’s sanction is the glue that’s holding the strategy unneurotic close now," Aarabi said. "Each of these clans invokes his sanction to warrant its existence, legitimize its position, and consolidate its spot wrong this fragile system."

Exiled Iranian writer Mehdi Ghadimi described the resignation claims arsenic portion of a recurring governmental strategy utilized by reformist administrations.

"This is simply a acquainted cycle," Ghadimi said. "Whenever they consciousness that their usefulness to the ultimate person has travel to an end, they commencement circulating these resignation rumors successful an effort to physique nationalist sympathy and amended their representation earlier being pushed aside."

Ghadimi said akin rumors surrounded erstwhile presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani during the last years of their administrations. He argued that reformist-aligned media channels often proceed circulating resignation claims adjacent aft a president’s bureau formally denies them, allowing officials aboriginal to represent themselves arsenic having challenged the ultimate leader.

On Mojtaba Khamenei’s status, Ghadimi went further than Aarabi, saying helium did not judge determination was "a functioning idiosyncratic by that sanction who is susceptible of thinking, making decisions oregon speaking."

"Either helium is dead, oregon helium is being kept live successful an highly unstable and severely deteriorated condition," Ghadimi said.

Aarabi said the 2 reports exemplify that dynamic. A cleric opposed to oregon unaligned with Pezeshkian invoked Mojtaba Khamenei’s authorization to weaken the president by claiming his adjacent resignation would beryllium accepted, portion figures astir Pezeshkian pushed backmost with an relationship portraying the president arsenic having met straight with the ultimate leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared successful immoderate publically released video oregon audio signaling since succeeding his father, according to Iran International. Iranian officials person offered conflicting accounts astir however often elder authorities figures person met him.

Aarabi cautioned that utilizing Khamenei’s sanction arsenic a root of authorization volition go progressively hard if his nationalist lack continues.

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A composite representation shows respective Iranian leaders named successful the State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme offering up to $10 cardinal for accusation connected cardinal figures tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Mojtaba Khamenei, apical left. (State Department / Rewards for Justice; Khoshiran / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

"There’s lone truthful galore times you tin usage someone’s sanction without immoderate impervious of beingness that they really exist," Aarabi said. "The longer Mojtaba is absent, the much questions make implicit whether helium is live oregon able. And arsenic soon arsenic that uncertainty increases, you volition spot this infighting increase."