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In a defiant televised address on Sunday, August 24, 2025, the Iranian regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei categorically ruled out any direct negotiations with the United States or concessions on Tehran’s regional policies, while calling for “unity” within the regime and publicly backing President Masoud Pezeshkian amid mounting factional infighting.
“Those who suggest we should not chant against America are superficial,” Khamenei declared. “The United States wants an obedient Iran. The Iranian nation will never accept such humiliation.”
Khamenei’s remarks come as rivalries within the ruling establishment reach their most dangerous level in years, fueled by mounting pressure from abroad and widening fault lines inside the regime. With the E3 powers — Britain, France, and Germany — threatening to activate the UN snapback sanctions mechanism if Tehran fails to comply with nuclear obligations by August 29, competing factions are scrambling to define survival strategies.
Power Struggles Intensify in #Tehran as Khamenei Faces Fracturing Factionshttps://t.co/l2CYP2iEzd
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 24, 2025
Rejecting Retreat, Fearing Instability
The revisionist faction, often branded as “reformists,” has pushed for a strategic retreat: curbing Tehran’s aggressive regional operations, scaling back uranium enrichment, and engaging Washington directly to avoid further isolation and stave off collapse.
Khamenei dismissed these calls outright, framing them as dangerous capitulation.
“Some believe that if we abandon resistance, our problems will be solved,” he said, referring to demands to halt Iran’s training, arming, and directing of proxy forces across the Middle East. “This view is wrong. The enemy wants an Iran that obeys orders. That will never happen.”
Yet behind Khamenei’s defiance lies a deeper concern: that the intensifying power struggles inside his regime risk emboldening an already explosive society. Facing economic freefall, growing international isolation, and public anger over corruption and repression, Khamenei fears that factional disunity could ignite widespread unrest — the very threat his survival strategy has sought to contain for decades.
#Khamenei’s July 29 Speech: A Choreographed Display of Power, Concealing the Ruinhttps://t.co/EZw9uEp9JM
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 30, 2025
Khamenei Rallies Behind Pezeshkian
In a direct move, Khamenei used the address to endorse his appointed president Masoud Pezeshkian, who has faced fierce attacks from rival factions in recent weeks.
“The people must support the country’s hardworking and persistent president,” Khamenei said, signaling his intention to shore up Pezeshkian’s legitimacy and rein in growing challenges from both extremists and revisionists.
The endorsement underscores Khamenei’s fears that political fragmentation could undermine the regime’s cohesion at a critical juncture. By presenting a united front around Pezeshkian, he seeks to contain internal disputes while signaling strength to foreign adversaries.
#Khamenei Breaks Silence in Bid to Shore Up a Fractured Base After 12-Day Warhttps://t.co/DB9Rw7kNJn
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 17, 2025
A Regime in Crisis
The speech highlights a leadership caught between two existential pressures:
- Foreign confrontation — as Europe moves closer to reimposing sweeping UN sanctions, exacerbating Iran’s economic crisis.
- Domestic volatility — as public discontent rises, and divisions within the establishment erode its ability to govern effectively.
These pressures are magnified by the “Reformist Statement” signed by prominent regime insiders who have tried for years to preserve the regime by backing down on principles that Khamenei’s camp deem for existential. For the Supreme Leader, these proposals represent more than dissent; they are viewed as lethal retreats that would weaken the entire power structure.
Khamenei’s outright rejection of compromise marks a decisive choice: doubling down on hostility abroad and repression at home rather than conceding to mounting pressure. By refusing to retreat — even as the international community warns of renewed sanctions and Iran’s society grows increasingly restless — he risks deepening internal fractures and further alienating a population already on the brink.