Qalibaf vs. the IRGC: The battle shaking Iran
The power struggle within Iran's leadership is intensifying: elements from the radical camp are working to reduce the powers of Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and transfer more power to the IRGC and the regime's ideological elements.
Disputes within the Iranian regime's leadership are widening, as the confrontation between several factions, all identified with the conservative and hardline camp, sharpens. At the center is Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has recently been under pressure regarding his involvement in political issues and ties with entities outside Iran, against the backdrop of a broader struggle over the distribution of power centers in the country after the war.
According to information that reached the "Erem News" website from American sources and Iranian opposition figures, the pressures recorded in recent days within the parliament and among religious circles close to the regime are not merely localized, but part of a broad confrontation in the radical camp over control of centers of influence. According to the report, more hardline elements oppose the expansion of powers granted to certain figures and institutions alongside the IRGC and the decision-making circle close to the Supreme Leader, and are pushing for a governance structure that will further strengthen the hardline ideological camp.
An Iranian political source from the opposition, who maintains ties with figures inside the country, told "Erem News" that in recent days, meetings and conversations have taken place in Tehran and Qom between parliamentary and religious figures identified with the more radical currents. The discussions focused, among other things, on Qalibaf's status, the expansion of his powers in the fields of negotiations and relations with China, and the question of what the parliament's role will be after the end of the military conflict.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Abbas Araghchi during the funeral of Ali Khamenei in Tehran (Photo: from networks according to Section 27a of the Copyright Law).
According to the same source, several members identified with the hardline wing stand out within the parliament, including Morteza Agha Tehrani, Mahmoud Nabavian, Hamid Rasaei, and Ali Khazarian. These are exerting pressure with the aim of reducing the roles that Qalibaf received beyond his official position as Speaker of the Parliament.
At the same time, more radical voices are also being heard in the religious arena, calling for a broad change in the structure of government. Among the figures mentioned are Mohammad Bagher Kharazi and Mohammad Mahdi Mirbaqeri, who, according to the report, are promoting a concept according to which the political weight of existing institutions should be reduced and more powers transferred to hardline ideological elements. This move also relies on the changes that occurred after the war and the damage suffered by some leadership centers.
One of the central elements in the internal struggle is the "Front of Islamic Revolution Stability," known as "Paydari," which is considered one of the ultra-conservative and most rigid currents in the ruling camp in Iran. The movement has a significant presence in the parliament and is identified with the political and religious tradition of Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi.
In recent years, Paydari has become known for its firm positions against negotiations with the West and its support for stricter legislation on social and religious issues. Therefore, the involvement of parliament members identified with it in the current confrontation gives the struggle a broader meaning: it is not just about personal opposition to Qalibaf, but a competition over the direction the regime will take and the identity of the factors that will determine policy in the post-war era.
The Iranian source added that at this stage, the move does not have one unified leadership, and that the groups participating in it do not necessarily share the same goals. However, according to him, they all converge around opposition to the expansion of roles given to figures like Qalibaf and some of the staff of Abbas Araghchi's Foreign Ministry in the fields of negotiations and international relations.
According to the report, those elements demand to re-centralize the management of political and external issues within circles more identified with the IRGC and ideological decision-making centers. If this struggle intensifies, it may turn into a significant confrontation over the power structure within the Islamic Republic and the identity of the camp that will dictate its path after the war.
