{"id":341812,"date":"2026-01-22T23:11:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=341812"},"modified":"2026-01-22T23:11:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T22:11:43","slug":"why-khameneis-bid-for-elite-endorsement-of-irans-bloody-crackdown-has-failed-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/why-khameneis-bid-for-elite-endorsement-of-irans-bloody-crackdown-has-failed-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Khamenei\u2019s Bid for Elite Endorsement of Iran\u2019s Bloody Crackdown Has Failed So Far"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A portrait of the Iranian regime\u2019s Supreme Leader burns amid open flames<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the bloody massacre of Iran\u2019s 2026 uprising, Ali Khamenei\u2019s recent public intervention was framed by state media as a moment of confidence: the \u201cpeople\u201d had defeated the \u201crioters,\u201d and now, he declared, it was the turn of the\u00a0khawas<\/em>\u2014the regime\u2019s political and clerical elites\u2014to take a stand. The supreme leader\u2019s affiliated weekly\u00a0Khat-e Hezbollah<\/em>\u00a0elevated<\/a>\u00a0the message into doctrine, arguing that after the street battle ends, the decisive arena becomes \u201cpositioning,\u201d \u201cnarrative,\u201d and elite responsibility.<\/p>\n

But this was not a victory speech. It was a distress signal.<\/p>\n

Authoritarian leaders do not normally beg their elites to speak. They assume compliance. Khamenei\u2019s insistence that influential figures must now declare themselves reveals a deeper anxiety: after a bloody suppression<\/a> of a nationwide uprising, the regime\u2019s inner consensus has fractured, and silence inside the system has become as dangerous as slogans in the street.<\/p>\n

The language matters. Khamenei did not ask elites to remain quiet; he demanded that they\u00a0take a stance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The result has been striking. Aside from former president Mohammad Khatami, who repeated the state line by portraying the uprising as a foreign conspiracy and praising the authorities\u2019 conduct, almost no top-tier regime figure rushed to Khamenei\u2019s defense. The absence is the story. In a system built on ritualized loyalty, this level of elite hesitation suggests fear\u2014not of Khamenei, but of society.<\/p>\n

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A System That Can No Longer Close Its Rankshttps:\/\/t.co\/HLZzsWenvs<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) November 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n