{"id":347682,"date":"2026-08-31T16:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=347682"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:53:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:53:48","slug":"mojtabas-unity-order-backfires-as-irans-economic-crisis-deepens-and-judiciary-warns-of-unrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/iranian-regime-infighting\/mojtabas-unity-order-backfires-as-irans-economic-crisis-deepens-and-judiciary-warns-of-unrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Mojtaba\u2019s Unity Order Backfires as Iran\u2019s Economic Crisis Deepens and Judiciary Warns of Unrest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hardline
Hardline cleric and MP Hamid Rasaee (white turban, left of center) argues with the Iranian regime’s president Masoud Pezeshkian as journalists and fellow lawmakers crowd around them in Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mojtaba Khamenei\u2019s attempt to suppress factional warfare inside Iran\u2019s clerical dictatorship is already producing the opposite effect. On August 28, he ordered<\/a> officials to avoid \u201cdiscouraging\u201d statements and declared that \u201canything that harms social cohesion is forbidden,\u201d specifically warning against polarization over \u201cwar or negotiation.\u201d His concern went beyond political etiquette: he also warned that openly describing weaknesses could damage the morale of the regime\u2019s own supporters.<\/p>\n

But hardline forces immediately turned that injunction against the regime\u2019s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and his circle. Kayhan, whose director is appointed by the supreme leader, accused<\/a> elements in the government of promoting \u201cweakness\u201d and urged Pezeshkian to purge what it called a \u201cunity-breaking\u201d current from the executive branch. The target included executive vice president Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah and Yusef Pezeshkian, the regime president\u2019s son and adviser, who argued that Iran\u2019s \u201csurvival is not dependent on enrichment\u201d and that nuclear policy should be judged by costs and benefits rather than treated as untouchable.<\/p>\n

The dispute exposes the contradiction in Mojtaba\u2019s order. Pezeshkian presents himself as a champion of \u201cunity,\u201d yet his case for changing course depends on publicly describing economic damage\u2014the very practice Mojtaba cautioned against. Pezeshkian has argued that sanctions are driving prices higher and has challenged those claiming sanctions have no effect. The IRGC-run Tasnim carried<\/a> his lengthy televised defense of the government\u2019s approach on August 28.<\/p>\n

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Mojtaba Orders Iran\u2019s Factions to Stop Fighting as Pezeshkian Uses #Economic<\/a> Crisis to Press for Talks
by @MansoreGolestan<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/BF4MO3L3GL<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 29, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n