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A fierce wave of infighting among Iranian state officials is exposing deep contradictions and political uncertainty surrounding Tehran’s decision to engage in new nuclear negotiations with the United States. Despite the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s constitutional monopoly over foreign policy, the public dissent and veiled criticism from his own loyalists suggest that his authority is being quietly eroded from within.
Just two months ago, Khamenei dismissed any notion of talks with the U.S. as “neither smart, nor wise, nor honorable.” Yet now, indirect negotiations are officially underway in Oman. The reversal has stunned parts of the regime’s own political and clerical apparatus, prompting several senior figures to publicly question both the necessity and legitimacy of the talks.
Javad Larijani, a veteran regime strategist and Khamenei confidant, expressed open disapproval in a televised interview on April 10. “We could have just exchanged messages. What was the need to accept negotiation?” he said, adding with sarcasm, “Now they’ll say, ‘I brought Iran to the table—even after killing your commander!’” — a reference to Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani, assassinated by the U.S. in 2020. Larijani doubled down: “We will not compromise even slightly on our nuclear capacity… not even turn down the flame a little.”
#Iran's Clerical Regime Rattled by Internal Splits and Nuclear Escalation Threatshttps://t.co/Mr5tVUjNNu
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 10, 2025
Speaking on state television, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, declared that the regime had “crossed all the red lines they defined for us,” a statement clearly aimed at placating demoralized loyalists amid the uproar over resumed negotiations. While Western diplomats may interpret the upcoming talks as a potential de-escalation, Eslami’s remarks expose Tehran’s duplicity: rather than seeking compromise, the regime is pursuing the talks from a position of defiance, having already advanced its nuclear program beyond previous limits. His comments underline that the regime’s priority is not transparency or compliance, but preserving its strategic leverage by violating terms before they are even set.
On April 11, Ahmad Alamolhoda, Khamenei’s representative in Mashhad, blasted the mere idea of negotiations. “Whether indirect or direct, it’s all unacceptable,” he said bluntly. “It goes against our national pride.”
Despite the regime’s claim of unity, its factions are clearly at odds. In Karaj, Friday prayer leader Mohammad-Mehdi Hosseini Hamedani struck a defensive tone: “We are negotiating from a position of strength.” But just moments later, he warned, “The enemy is focused on eroding people’s hope and trust in the system.” His rhetoric exposed how vulnerable the regime feels even while projecting confidence.
Iran News: #Khamenei Issues Tactical Fatwa to Iraqi Militias Amid U.S. Pressure and #Nuclear Talks – Sourceshttps://t.co/PMu32nsCfM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 11, 2025
Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan Daily and a public mouthpiece for Khamenei, tried to contain the backlash by asserting that the negotiations were proceeding with the Supreme Leader’s full knowledge. “If he were opposed, it would not be happening,” Shariatmadari wrote. But he even warned the negotiators against making concessions: “The concern is that they may cross boundaries and violate those lines.”
Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, a former top security official, attempted to strike a balanced tone: “Araghchi is going with full authority,” he said. “But we seek a real and fair deal—not a media spectacle.” He emphasized the need to avoid political point-scoring while the regime’s future is at stake.
Meanwhile, Lotfollah Dezhkam, the Friday prayer leader of Shiraz, warned that “from the president to the foreign minister,” all must “listen to the Leader” and preserve “cohesion under the command of the Supreme Leadership,” emphasizing that shifting tactics must not undermine absolute obedience.
Internal Defections Cripple #Iran’s Regime Ahead of High-Stakes U.S. Negotiationshttps://t.co/2ltDtsBU1P
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 8, 2025
During the Friday prayer sermon in Tehran on April 11, Kazem Sedighi tried to reassure the regime’s supporters, saying, “Today our country has become nuclear, and this industry and science have become indigenous; there is absolutely no place for negotiations where they could alter this reality or take nuclear [capability] away from us.”
The internal contradictions are piling up. In Hamedan, cleric Habibollah Shabani openly worried that nuclear negotiations were becoming a tool for internal rivalry. “We must not turn this into a new polarization within the country,” he warned.
However, the clerical regime’s primary concern was vividly expressed by Mohammad Fatemi, the Friday Prayer Leader of Shahrekord, who declared, “Although the Iranian nation, its supreme leader, and its forces had no fear of war and considered it unlikely that Trump would entangle himself here, but there was a concern that a sedition might arise internally, and some, under the pretext of saying ‘we don’t want war,’ could cause problems and create domestic unrest.”
The fact that such disagreements are spilling onto regime-controlled television and pulpits is itself telling. Officials and clerics may still defer to Khamenei in word, but in practice, they are eroding his hegemony, highlighting Tehran’s growing difficulty in presenting a unified front to its citizens or the international community. The fractures reveal a clerical elite unsure how to navigate a collapsing economy, intensifying public discontent, and the threat of a breakdown in strategic deterrence.