Iran leadership tensions deepen after war and assassinations

Iran's internal political tensions have come under fresh scrutiny after a war involving the United States and Israel, a wave of assassinations targeting senior Iranian figures and renewed questions over who is effectively running the country. The immediate focus is on President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose reported tensions with hardline conservatives have become more consequential in the aftermath of the conflict. The article also points to the absence of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from public view since the war began, adding to uncertainty around the centre of power in Tehran.

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According to the report, Pezeshkian took office in 2024 presenting himself as a more moderate figure than his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, and saying Iran should be cohesive and avoid instability in the Middle East. The piece says he was backed by Khamenei and had expressed a desire to cooperate with the West. It also says Iranian state media denied a report earlier this week that Pezeshkian had resigned amid a power struggle with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, describing it as rumour-mongering and noting that the claim could not be independently verified.

The report says the current turbulence follows the death of Iran's supreme leader in February in a deadly strike by Israel and the United States, after which war broke out between the three countries. It says the conflict killed many other senior Iranian figures and forced some survivors into hiding. That has left the presidency, the clerical leadership and the IRGC under closer scrutiny, with the question of command and succession becoming more prominent than before.

The significance of the story lies in the way wartime losses can alter the balance between elected institutions, security bodies and the supreme leader's office in Iran's political system. The presidency is powerful, but the report suggests the IRGC and hardline conservatives remain central actors in any struggle over authority. If the leadership is divided or uncertain, that can affect decision-making on security, diplomacy and domestic control at a time of heightened regional tension.

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Pezeshkian's rise had initially been presented as a possible opening for a less confrontational style of government. The report describes him as a former cardiac surgeon and a low-profile reformer who repeatedly said he was "not a special person". It also notes that he was seen as less hardline than Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash in bad weather had already created a major political transition before the later war deepened the pressure on the system.

The article places the current dispute in the context of a broader pattern of elite vulnerability. It says a wave of assassinations has targeted top Iranian officials, while the supreme leader has not been seen publicly since the war began. Those details matter because public visibility is often used to signal continuity and control in Iran's political order.

The absence of that signal, combined with unverified reports of a presidential resignation, has fuelled speculation about internal fractures even though the official response has been to deny the claim. What remains unclear is whether the resignation report had any basis, how serious the reported tensions between the presidency and the IRGC are, and what role Khamenei is playing behind the scenes. The report does not independently confirm any change in leadership, and it does not provide details on the supreme leader's condition or whereabouts.

The key thing to watch is whether further verified reporting emerges on the balance of power inside Iran, and whether the war's political consequences continue to reshape the country's leadership structure.