{"id":34354,"date":"2025-07-16T04:36:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T04:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=34354"},"modified":"2025-07-16T04:36:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T04:36:30","slug":"irans-hardliners-and-reformists-jockey-for-power-after-israel-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=34354","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s hardliners and reformists jockey for power after Israel war"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Stay informed with free updates<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\"><span>Simply sign up to the <!-- -->Middle Eastern politics &amp; society<!-- --> myFT Digest &#8212; delivered directly to your inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=d1ca58cb-7243-4fd1-803e-de4ee61a36fd&amp;concept-id=8635546c-c2db-4cbc-ae74-6196ebbc8c1f\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Iranian hardliners have reignited a bitter power struggle with reformist politicians as the aftermath of the country\u2019s 12-day war with Israel provokes a fierce contest over the future of the theocracy.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s setbacks at the hands of Israel and the US, whose campaigns last month killed senior military commanders and largely destroyed the country\u2019s nuclear facilities, have in recent days fuelled recriminations and rancorous debate within the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n<p>Hardline ideologues, who advocate for perennial enmity with the west, have railed against the possibility of re-engaging with the US and attacked Iran\u2019s reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian, who this week suggested he remained amenable to negotiations with Washington.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe still believe the window for diplomacy is open and we\u2019ll seriously pursue this peaceful path,\u201d Pezeshkian wrote on X on Monday. Reformists argue that the Islamic republic can only survive by doubling down on diplomacy, relaxing its ideological strictures and opening up its economy.<\/p>\n<p>The president provoked outrage from hardline lawmakers last week after he sought to play down the regime slogan \u201cDeath to America\u201d in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/65f35602-94e5-41c6-869a-4192550e9eb0\" data-trackable=\"link\">interview with conservative media personality<\/a> Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n<p>Pezeshkian claimed the phrase, a hallmark of state rallies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, was not meant to be taken literally.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad5269068-1b38-47d9-8f6d-44959847ca16?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad5269068-1b38-47d9-8f6d-44959847ca16?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad5269068-1b38-47d9-8f6d-44959847ca16?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"2290\" height=\"1526\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>President Pezeshkian provoked outrage from hardline lawmakers last week after he sought to play down the regime slogan \u2018Death to America\u2019 in an interview with Tucker Carlson<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Iranian Presidency\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Reuters Connect<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Some two dozen hardline members of parliament later wrote to the president to criticise him, with MP Amir Hossein Sabeti warning of a \u201cparliamentary shift of approach\u201d if the government does not change course, which some observers interpreted as a tacit impeachment threat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was horrified,\u201d Abolfazl Zohrevand, a prominent hardline MP, told local media last week of Pezeshkian\u2019s comments. The president \u201clacks the minimum qualifications for this position\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009and whitewashed the US. We have concluded that the main task of the government is to put an end to the Islamic Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Iran had engaged in several rounds of talks with the US over the country\u2019s nuclear programme before Israel launched its surprise attack, which Washington later joined before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/e229be99-e567-4155-bc30-96dfa4bcaa12\" data-trackable=\"link\">brokering a fragile ceasefire<\/a> on June 24.<\/p>\n<p>The assault, which officials say killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, helped reawaken a sense of nationalism as Iranians rallied around the flag.<\/p>\n<p>But hardliners, who remained largely silent during the conflict in the interests of national cohesion, have since argued that the war has vindicated their opposition to talks \u2014 and showed that more diplomacy will not prevent future American or Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, more than ever, this confrontation with the US and Israel reinforced our discourse that this hostility, rooted in our religion, should be the measure of right and wrong,\u201d said Hamid-Reza Taraghi, a hardline politician. \u201cIt\u2019s the reformists whose arguments and support for talks with the US have lost credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad283422a-343f-4170-819c-b05cb3e8b6ad?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad283422a-343f-4170-819c-b05cb3e8b6ad?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Ad283422a-343f-4170-819c-b05cb3e8b6ad?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"2289\" height=\"1526\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A97b0eb5c-cbf8-4dc3-98a5-c30d0c8fa2dc?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A97b0eb5c-cbf8-4dc3-98a5-c30d0c8fa2dc?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A97b0eb5c-cbf8-4dc3-98a5-c30d0c8fa2dc?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"1526\" height=\"1526\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fd283422a-343f-4170-819c-b05cb3e8b6ad.jpg?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1\" alt=\"A woman in Tehran walks past a poster with photos of children killed in the war with Israel\" data-image-type=\"image\" width=\"2289\" height=\"1526\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>The assault on Iran, which officials say killed more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, helped reawaken a sense of nationalism as Iranians rallied around the flag<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Majid Saeedi\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Reformists fear that provocations from hardliners could invite more foreign aggression, with one cleric on state-affiliated television using a fatwa to launch a fundraising campaign offering a bounty on US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHardliners offer no way forward and lack public support,\u201d said reformist analyst Saeed Laylaz. \u201cTheir main concern isn\u2019t ideology. It\u2019s being left out of any future US agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s top diplomats continue to insist, as they did before the war, that Tehran will not compromise on its demand that it continue enriching uranium domestically as part of any new deal, one of the US\u2019s key positions. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.<\/p>\n<p>But any ultimate decisions on Iran\u2019s postwar strategy are expected to be made by the country\u2019s 86-year-old supreme leader, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/stream\/79551688-0109-4664-b269-f2d2b1fa0841\" data-trackable=\"link\">Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>, though he has largely retreated from public view since the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Reformists, however, have sought not just to influence foreign relations \u2014 but seek sweeping changes at home.<\/p>\n<aside aria-labelledby=\"aside-label\" class=\"n-content-recommended--single-story n-content-recommended--inset\" data-component=\"recommended\">\n<p class=\"n-content-recommended__title o3-type-body-highlight\">Recommended<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser o-teaser--article o-teaser--small o-teaser--stacked o-teaser--has-image js-teaser\" data-id=\"43b9ba91-dccb-439f-b243-aa8879b7ebf8\">\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-container js-teaser-image-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/43b9ba91-dccb-439f-b243-aa8879b7ebf8\" data-trackable=\"image-link\" data-trackable-context-story-link=\"image-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-placeholder\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2290\/1289\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"o-teaser__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2F__origami%2Fservice%2Fimage%2Fv2%2Fimages%2Fraw%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%252Fproduction%252Fbe452f4e-74e2-4a3a-bf8c-06ce5c00cde8.jpg%3Fsource%3Dnext-article%26fit%3Dscale-down%26quality%3Dhighest%26width%3D700%26dpr%3D1?source=next&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;dpr=2&amp;width=240\" alt=\"Iranians watch the Tehran Symphony Orchestra perform live in the capital\u2019s Azadi Square\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Around 200 economists and former reformist officials last week issued a statement calling for \u201ca shift in the paradigm of governance\u201d, urging Pezeshkian\u2019s administration to pursue diplomacy with the US and Europe, revise financial policies and combat corruption to restore public trust.<\/p>\n<p>Mir-Hossein Moussavi, a former prime minister who has been under house arrest since 2011, also called for a national referendum to establish a constitutional parliament and begin a political transition.<\/p>\n<p>But there is no indication that Iran\u2019s power centres, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps \u2014 the country\u2019s most powerful institution \u2014 will allow him a role in shaping the future. Mostafa Tajzadeh, another senior political prisoner, was abruptly handed new sentences last week that will keep him in jail until 2032.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople seem to be waiting to see what happens in this internal power struggle,\u201d said Karim, a food merchant in Tehran, who did not want to use his second name. \u201cBut politicians may not realise time is running out and they need to make up their minds very fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/d1ca58cb-7243-4fd1-803e-de4ee61a36fd\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Middle Eastern politics &amp; society myFT Digest &#8212;&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":34355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}