US EditionIran’s Guards seize wartime power, blunting Supreme Leader's role
Insiders say the IRGC now drives strategy and talks, while Iran’s new proposal would delay nuclear negotiations until the war ends.
- Following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a wartime inner circle centered on the Supreme National Security Council have seized control of military strategy and key political decisions, marking a decisive shift from clerical primacy to security-dominated governance.
- Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader's wounded son, was elevated following his father's death, but three people familiar with internal deliberations say his role is largely to legitimize decisions made by his generals rather than issue directives himself.
- "We've gone from divine power to hard power," said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. negotiator, noting the Guards now shape strategy through a security-first worldview prioritizing rigid centralized control and resistance to Western pressure.
- Iran submitted a new proposal to Washington on Monday envisioning staged talks, yet Iran expert Alan Eyre warned that "for either, flexibility would be seen as weakness," signaling a persistent diplomatic stalemate.
- The leadership's policy options have narrowed to "hardline and even harder line," complicating negotiations over nuclear policy and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz for U.S. and Gulf interlocutors amid sustained regional tensions.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Two months after the outbreak of the war with the US and Israel, Iran no longer has a single undisputed clerical arbiter at the top of its power - a sudden break from the past that could strengthen Tehran's position while it explores the possibility of resuming negotiations with Washington. Since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic has focused on the figure of a supreme leader with final authority on all key issues of the state. But …
Power appears to have passed to the Revolutionary Guards after Khamenei's death - Mojtaba Khamenei retains a role in ratifying decisions - Tehran and Washington are playing a delaying game in negotiations
The supreme guide Mojtaba Khamenei, seriously wounded, remaining in retreat and unable to exercise his absolute power, the Iranian regime revealed its divisions on the negotiations with the United States. The Revolutionary Guards have gained further power "No one knows who is in command, including themselves." Donald Trump's exasperation against Tehran did not prevent the White House from studying on Tuesday a new Iranian offer to unlock the Str…
Evening Brief: The Mullahs Still Preach, But Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Now Run the War
Iran’s clerics may still wear the robes, but after Khamenei’s death, the IRGC now controls the war room, the missiles, and the next ugly move in the Gulf. #Iran #RevolutionaryGuard #IranianRevolutionaryGuard #MiddleEast #Tehran #RegimeCrackdown #MilitaryNews #NationalSecurity #WorldNews #SOFREP
In Wartime Power Grab, Iran’s Guards Sideline Supreme Leader’s Authority
Two months into a war with the U. S. and Israel, Iran has experienced a shift in power dynamics, with no clear clerical leader after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the war’s first day. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has taken on a role that primarily legitimizes decisions made by military leaders rather than […] The post In Wartime Power Grab, Iran’s Guards Sideline Supreme Leader’s Authority appeared first on Modern Diplomacy.
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