Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the Iranian armed forces, has blocked President Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidential appointments and erected what sources described as a security cordon around Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a report published Tuesday by Iran International said.
The IRGC effectively has assumed control over key state functions, the report claimed.
“It was always a matter of when, not if, the IRGC was going to step forward even more than it has in the last three decades,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.
Pezeshkian has reached a “complete political deadlock” as tensions between his administration and the military leadership deepen, according to the report.
IRAN’S CEASEFIRE PUSH MAY BE A ‘CYCLE OF DECEPTION,’ ANALYSTS WARN AS SHADOWY FIGURE GAINS POWER
The reported shift could have major consequences far beyond Iran.
Analysts say a more powerful IRGC likely would mean a more confrontational Iran, less willing to compromise in talks with Washington and more inclined to continue military escalation across the region. With U.S.-Iran negotiations already faltering and uncertainty growing over whether Tehran will even send negotiators to the next round of talks, the rise of the Revolutionary Guard raises fresh doubts about who actually is making decisions in Iran and whether any civilian official can still speak for the regime.
“But it’s a mistake to assume this is some sort of coup,” Ben Taleblu said. “This has been the process in Iran for years now, as the regime has chosen conflict over cooperation and emboldened its security forces at every juncture.”
Pezeshkian’s recent effort to appoint a new intelligence minister collapsed after direct pressure from IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, sources told Iran International, arguing that all proposed candidates, including former Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, were rejected.
Vahidi reportedly insisted that under wartime conditions, all critical and sensitive positions must be chosen and managed directly by the Revolutionary Guard until further notice.
“By any standard, Vahidi is considered a radical even within the regime’s hardline elite, and his rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine now calls the shots,” Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and journalist, told Fox News Digital.
Under Iran’s system, the president traditionally nominates an intelligence minister only after securing approval from the supreme leader. But with the condition and whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei unclear in recent weeks, the IRGC appears to be increasingly acting without civilian oversight.
IRAN’S NEW SUPREME LEADER IS ‘HIS FATHER ON STEROIDS,’ EXPERTS WARN OF HARDLINE RULE
The report claims Pezeshkian repeatedly has sought an urgent meeting with Khamenei but has been unable to establish contact.
Instead, according to Iran International, a “military council” made up of senior IRGC officers now controls access to the center of power, preventing government reports from reaching Mojtaba and effectively isolating him from the elected government.
Still, analysts say the reported power struggle reflects a longer trend in Iran, where the Revolutionary Guard has steadily expanded its influence over politics, the economy and national security.
Ben Taleblu argued that Pezeshkian’s apparent sidelining should not be viewed as a dramatic break from the past because the president never exercised significant independent authority.
“Those who worry about Pezeshkian’s potential sidelining need to consider what he realistically was or wasn’t able to do mere months ago when the regime slaughtered 40,000 Iranians in the streets,” he said.
Pezeshkian, elected in 2025 on promises of moderation and reform, has repeatedly found himself constrained by the security establishment and the clerical leadership.
The latest report suggests that dynamic has intensified dramatically as Iran faces growing external pressure and internal uncertainty.
One of the most striking claims involves Ali Asghar Hejazi, a powerful security official inside the office of the supreme leader.
LETHAL ELITE ‘BLACK-CLAD’ KILL SQUAD GUARDS IRAN’S NEW SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI
Some of Mojtaba Khamenei’s associates are now trying to push Hejazi out because he opposed Mojtaba succeeding his father, according to Iran International.
The report said Hejazi warned members of the Assembly of Experts that Mojtaba lacked the qualifications to become supreme leader and that hereditary succession would violate the principles laid out by Ali Khamenei.
Hejazi reportedly also warned that putting Mojtaba in power would effectively hand the country to the Revolutionary Guard and permanently sideline civilian institutions.
That warning increasingly appears to reflect what is already happening.
The Revolutionary Guard, created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to defend the regime, has long evolved far beyond a military force. It now controls major sections of Iran’s economy, oversees the country’s missile and nuclear programs, and exerts influence across nearly every branch of government.
Analysts say the latest developments suggest the IRGC is no longer operating behind the scenes, but is openly emerging as the dominant force in Tehran.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sidelines president as military grip expands 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-04-21 10:00:30 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
