{"id":2261,"date":"2026-08-02T04:10:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2261"},"modified":"2026-08-02T04:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:10:03","slug":"irans-leaders-show-a-united-front-over-the-war-but-are-divided-over-what-the-goal-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2261","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s leaders show a united front over the war but are divided over what the goal is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CAIRO (AP) \u2014 With escalating attacks<\/span> against U.S. bases and its allies over the past week, Iran\u2019s leaders are showing considerable unity over their war strategy: hanging tough, determined to show Iran can endure more<\/span> than America and its allies can.<\/p>\n

Read more Palestinians in Gaza hope Hamas will disarm but fear Israeli forces won\u2019t withdraw<\/a><\/p>\n

But within the leadership, there are sharp differences over what the endgame should be.<\/p>\n

On one side, the ultra-hardliners who oppose any negotiations with the United States are pressing for total victory in the war. Known as the \u201cPaydari\u201d movement \u2013 Persian for \u201cstability\u201d \u2013 they are hard-core ideologues who want to enforce the Islamic Republic\u2019s control<\/span> over society.<\/p>\n

On the other, those who support President Masoud Pezeshkian and powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf \u2014 who doubles as Iran\u2019s chief negotiator \u2014 see military pressure as a way to win a negotiated deal<\/span> with the United States. This camp is also spurred by concern over the economic toll<\/span> Iran is suffering from the war and the need to adapt to social change<\/span> in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cNegotiation is a political tool and a complement to military action to force the enemy to a point of compulsion and extract real concessions,\u201d an adviser to Qalibaf, Mahdi Mohammadi, wrote on his Telegram channel Thursday.<\/p>\n

The unusually open rivalry within the theocracy\u2019s leadership points to a struggle for control over Iran\u2019s postwar future. A huge question mark is where the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, stands. Reportedly injured in the strike that killed his father<\/span> in the opening minutes of the war on Feb. 28, Khamenei remains in hiding, and both sides have claimed his support.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Iran is determined to show strength<\/h2>\n

In a boost for Qalibaf and Pezeshkian, the ceasefire deal reached with the U.S. in April received strong backing in Iran\u2019s top leadership body, the Supreme National Security Council. Twelve of its 13 members approved it, including senior figures in the Revolutionary Guard and the military.<\/p>\n

The lone vote against the deal is widely believed to have come from Saeed Jalili, the most prominent figure in the Paydari movement. <\/p>\n

But the ceasefire crumbled as the two sides trade strikes and as Iran presses for control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz which before the war carried a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil and gas. Iran was also frustrated that financial promises under the deal \u2013 including the release of billions of frozen assets \u2013 didn\u2019t materialize, and now the American blockade is back in place. <\/p>\n

With no benefits from the deal, \u201cthere\u2019s no serious division\u201d in the leadership over how to respond, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n

They believe U.S. President Donald Trump \u201conly understands the language of force, and therefore, they would have to gain the upper hand in order to compel him to deliver,\u201d Vaez said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The hard-liners are pressuring Iranians<\/h2>\n

The funeral for slain Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, earlier this month appeared to show the strength of the ultra-hardline Paydari. Crowds called for revenge on the U.S. and Israel for the war. Videos showed mourners in Tehran welcoming Jalili, while Pezeshkian was greeted at one point with insults and cries of \u201cDeath to the compromiser!\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The ultra-hardliners have used nightly rallies and their control of state television, known by the acronym IRIB, to drum up opposition to negotiations. At rallies and on TV, speakers have portrayed Iran as headed for total victory and denounced those who compromise with the Islamic Republic\u2019s archenemy, the United States.<\/p>\n

State television cut off a June 30 live broadcast with Qalibaf as he discussed negotiations with Washington. Earlier this month, it cut off broadcasting a speech by Pezeshkian to businessmen seconds after he said that the elder Khamenei had given permission for renewed U.S. talks before his death.<\/p>\n

Read more Europe\u2019s wildfire crisis shifts as some 200,000 French return but new blazes force thousands to flee<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n
\nSign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong>
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n