Iran leaders united on war, divided on goals
Cairo: With escalating attacks against US bases and its allies over the past week, Iran's leaders are showing considerable unity over their war strategy: hanging
Cairo: With escalating attacks against US bases and its allies over the past week, Iran's leaders are showing considerable unity over their war strategy: hanging tough, determined to show Iran can endure more than America and its allies can.But within the leadership, there are sharp differences over what the endgame should be.On one side, the ultra-hardliners who oppose any negotiations with the United States are pressing for total victory in the war. Known as the "Paydari" movement -- Persian for "stability" -- they are hard-core ideologues who want to enforce the Islamic Republic's control over society.Also Read: Trump announces pause in Iran attack after Tehran reportedly seeks talks, links move to Hormuz reopeningOn the other, those who support President Masoud Pezeshkian and powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- who doubles as Iran's chief negotiator -- see military pressure as a way to win a negotiated deal with the United States. This camp is also spurred by concern over the economic toll Iran is suffering from the war and the need to adapt to social change in the country."Negotiation is a political tool and a complement to military action to force the enemy to a point of compulsion and extract real concessions," an adviser to Ghalibaf, Mahdi Mohammadi, wrote on his Telegram channel Thursday.The unusually open rivalry within the theocracy's leadership points to a struggle for control over Iran's postwar future. A huge question mark is where the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, stands. Reportedly injured in the strike that killed his father in the opening minutes of the war on February 28, Khamenei remains in hiding, and both sides have claimed his support. Iran is determined to show strength In a boost for Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian, the ceasefire deal reached with the US in April received strong backing in Iran's top leadership body, the Supreme Security Council.
Twelve of its 13 members approved it, including senior figures in the Revolutionary Guard and the military.The lone vote against the deal is widely believed to have come from Saeed Jalili, the most prominent figure in the Paydari movement.But the ceasefire crumbled as the two sides trade strikes and as Iran presses for control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz which before the war carried a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas. Iran was also frustrated that financial promises under the deal -- including the release of billions of frozen assets -- didn't materialise, and now the American blockade is back in place.With no benefits from the deal, "there's no serious division" in the leadership over how to respond, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.They believe US President Donald Trump "only understands the language of force, and therefore, they would have to gain the upper hand in order to compel him to deliver," Vaez said.Also Read: Hormuz oil shuttling trade is picking up again after lull The hard-liners are pressuring Iranians The funeral for slain Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, earlier this month appeared to show the strength of the ultra-hardline Paydari. Crowds called for revenge on the US and Israel for the war. Videos showed mourners in Tehran welcoming Jalili, while Pezeshkian was greeted at one point with insults and cries of "Death to the compromiser!".The ultra-hardliners have used nightly rallies and their control of state television, known by the acronym IRIB, to drum up opposition to negotiations. At rallies and on TV, speakers have portrayed Iran as headed for total victory and denounced those who compromise with the Islamic Republic's archenemy, the United States.State television cut off a June 30 live broadcast with Ghalibaf as he discussed negotiations with Washington.
The BriefWire