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The introduction of Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet has sparked a fierce power struggle among the rival factions within the Iranian regime, exposing deep-seated divisions and an ongoing battle for control in Tehran’s political corridors. From the moment Pezeshkian revealed his list of cabinet nominees, the response from various political factions was swift and severe. Figures and affiliated media outlets who proclaim to be “reformists” have been particularly vocal in their discontent, accusing Pezeshkian of betraying the principles that supposedly underpinned his rise to power.
Ali Nazari, editor of Mostaghel Online, commented on X, “Public opinion is angry about Pezeshkian’s cabinet list. It appears that the national unity cabinet has been mistaken for a joint-stock company!”
The sense of betrayal was echoed by Azar Mansouri, who holds a nominal leadership position in the so-called “Reformist Front.” She expressed her disappointment, noting that “the composition of the cabinet is far from the expectations of the Reformist Front; no one is accountable for its performance.”
Hadi Kassai-Zadeh, a state-affiliated media activist, pictured Pezeshkian’s photo next to an image of a Trojan Horse, writing, “The fourteenth government has dealt a harsh blow to many voters. There has been a significant loss of trust in society. It was not supposed to be a military and security government.”
#پزشکیان اسب تروآ آخرین سیاست داخلی ایران بود. #کابینه_دولت چهاردهم سیلی محکمی به گوش بسیاری از رای دهندگان (مردم) زد. بی اعتمادی زیادی در جامعه رخ داده است. قرار نبود دولت نظامی و امنیتی تشکیل شود. دولت ها کاری می کنند که مردم بگویند صدرحمت به دولت قبل؛ فاتحه دولت را خواندیم. pic.twitter.com/bhFp8zASAd
— سید هادی کسایی زاده/ روزنامه نگار (@kasaeizadeh) August 11, 2024
The state-affiliated Tahkim-e Mellat wrote, “To see how absurd the situation is, consider that out of the 19 ministers proposed by Pezeshkian, 10 had positions in Raisi’s government. Welcome to Ebrahim Raisi’s second term!”
This source, slamming Zarif, added, “The first victims were the reformist thinking and power-seeking that deceived people with misleading rhetoric. You and others involved in the sham elections must be held accountable; evasive tactics and romanticized speeches are of no use to the public.”
Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a close ally of former president Ali-Akbar Rafsanjani and former mayor of Tehran, warned Khamenei that this cabinet could lead to serious consequences like unrest and rebellion. He said, “There was an expectation for change in various sectors. We understand there have been many constraints, but ignoring election promises and the demands revived by Mr. Pezeshkian will ultimately harm the country and undermine national security and the political climate.”
The state-run website Asr-e Iran wrote, “Most predictions and speculations about Pezeshkian’s cabinet were inaccurate. Pezeshkian surprised everyone with his list of proposed ministers; hardly anyone expected such a list, perhaps not even Pezeshkian himself until recently!”
Zarif’s resignation fallout
Following the announcement of Pezeshkian’s cabinet, for the sixth time since 2013, the newly appointed presidential deputy for strategic affairs, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, declared his resignation. In contrast, state media pushed back, claiming that Zarif was not resigning but was removed due to security concerns, citing his children’s dual citizenship as a primary reason for his dismissal.
In response to his critics, Zarif later stated, “Some discredited individuals have misinterpreted the 2022 law to use my role in sensitive positions as a means to pressure the fourteenth government. To avoid any suspicion or pretext for undermining Dr. Pezeshkian’s government, I resigned from the Strategic Deputy position last week.”
He added, “Despite my children being born around 40 years ago during my studies (not while on a mission in the US), and despite the US’s territorial laws resulting in dual citizenship, I am under sanctions from both the US and Canada. My wife and I are even unable to travel to the US, Canada, or some other countries for tourism. No oversight body has objected to my position; this issue is more relevant for others whose children have acquired dual citizenship and residency abroad than for me.”
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a disgruntled hardliner and former head of the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was blunt in his assessment: “70% of those introduced for the cabinet will not implement Pezeshkian’s slogans because they take their orders from outside, not from him.”
In an interview with the state-run newspaper Ham-Mihan, he dismissed Mohammad-Javad Zarif distancing himself from the cabinet, saying, “Mr. Zarif cannot now claim that he had no role. This cabinet is the result of a mechanism that Mr. Zarif established.”
Falahatpisheh emphasized that the failure to turn victory into success was due to the mechanism Mr. Zarif had in mind and that Zarif must take responsibility for this failure. “We do not accept that there are now some moral justifications,” he stressed. “Mr. Pezeshkian’s weakness in the cabinet is very evident, and Mr. Pezeshkian is the first to have a minority in his own cabinet.”
The fallout from Pezeshkian’s cabinet nominations has not been limited to Zarif. The state-aligned Bahar News reported, “Some media activists have reported that after Zarif, Ali Tayebnia and Abdeh Tabrizi, Pezeshkian’s economic deputy and advisor, have also resigned due to the strange composition of the proposed ministers.”
Mohammad-Javad Zarif, former #Iranian regime FM and newly appointed strategic deputy of #MasoudPezeshkian resigned following the introduction of the new controversial cabinet. pic.twitter.com/H8b1xUwz1d
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 12, 2024
In stark contrast, hardliners and those aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have expressed satisfaction with the cabinet selections. They see the cabinet as a victory for Khamenei’s vision, ensuring that the regime’s core policies remain unchanged.
On August 12, the newspaper Kayhan, whose editorial guidelines are directed by Khamenei’s office, reported, “Zarif’s dual-citizen child and Pezeshkian’s disregard for the list from the Strategic Council led to Zarif’s early departure from the fourteenth government.”
Hamid Rasae, an influential MP, commented on Zarif’s resignation, “According to Article 2 of the Law on Appointments to Sensitive Positions, the appointment of individuals with dual citizenship, or whose children or spouses have dual citizenship, to sensitive posts, including Vice President, is prohibited. Such an appointment is void and its continuation is considered a crime. Please do not make your forced resignation a matter of public charity.”
Meanwhile, a state-affiliated media activist Ahmad Zeidabadi warned, “Pezeshkian was sent into a minefield and was not only abandoned in the middle of the battlefield but also came under heavy fire before any mine even exploded! This type of politics makes any governance in this country impossible. So, what’s next? What do you plan to do after discrediting Pezeshkian?”
The state-run Tahlil-e Zamaneh wrote, “Pezeshkian’s and his advisors’ mistakes over the past month have severely diminished public hope in the government; Zarif’s resignation delivered the final blow. With this lack of public support, the fourteenth government will be unable to accomplish anything.”
The unveiling of Pezeshkian’s cabinet has laid bare the reality that despite his reformist label, Pezeshkian is, in truth, a loyalist to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The internal conflicts and resignations within the marginalized factions only serve to highlight the deception at play—what was promised as a government of transformation is instead a continuation of the Supreme Leader’s unyielding grip on power, cloaked in the rhetoric of reform to pacify an explosive society and the international community that is fed up with Tehran’s warmongering and proxy fighting.
