Rift In Iran Leadership? What Pezeshkian’s U-Turn

9th March 2026 at 7:04 PM

1 minute read

Tehran : Tehran has continued to strike a defiant tone, with its leaders rejecting US demands for an “unconditional surrender”, and vowing to fight on. Despite this, the leadership in Iran is increasingly showing signs of being fractured by the war, which many in Tehran have described as an existential fight. The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, has laid bare the fissures within Iran’s leadership, as moderates and hardliners clash over the direction of the war.

The first was the uproar from hardliners in Iran after President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised for Iran targeting its neighbouring nations, which later led him to walk back on his statement, arguing that his remarks were being misinterpreted to spread division. The second was the appointment of Ali Khameini’s son, Mojtaba Khameini, as the new supreme leader of Iran. The third was the IRGC’s assertion of authority, undermining the clerical leadership. The Economist said the IRGC, the defenders of the Islamic Republic, is functioning with unprecedented autonomy.

The council included President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. The new leadership initially promised swift revenge for the death of Khamenei, who had ruled for nearly four decades, and launched large-scale missile and drone attacks on Israeli and American targets, along with civilian infrastructure such as airports, oil refineries, and hotels across Gulf countries including Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

He said, “I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran. Our commanders, leaders and loved ones lost their lives due to the brutal aggression that took place.” He added, “We didn’t intend to violate neighbouring countries. As I have said many times, they are our brothers. We stand with those we love in the region,” and pledged no further attacks unless Iran was struck from their territory, while suggesting some earlier actions had been uncoordinated.