As signs of divisions and rivalry at the highest levels of the Iranian regime have become increasingly apparent, 62 of the 88 members of the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for appointing and overseeing the supreme leader, issued an unprecedented statement calling for the continuation of confrontational policies, including keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the 10-point statement, the signatories described U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “Mahdur al-Dam” (one whose blood may be shed with immunity) and claimed that killing them “is obligatory for every obligated Muslim who gains access to them.”
European Union Sanctions Against Iran’s Regime and the Strait of Hormuz Crisis
The signatories also referred to Israel’s continuing military operations in Lebanon and the presence of Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, claiming that this constitutes a violation of understandings between Iran and the United States. On that basis, they described reopening the Strait of Hormuz as “a strategic mistake,” arguing that doing so would make “the enemy even bolder.”
The statement also reaffirmed the positions announced by Mojtaba Khamenei, the new leader of the Iranian regime, regarding negotiations with the United States, calling for Iran’s nuclear program to be excluded from the agenda of any talks with Washington. The signatories further emphasized the need to pursue the “consolidation of control over the Strait of Hormuz,” obtain compensation, secure the release of frozen assets, and bring about the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the region.
In another section of the statement, officials were warned to refrain from making any remarks or taking any actions that could be interpreted as showing “the country’s weakness or inability.” It also stressed that Mojtaba Khamenei’s positions should be treated as the “final word” and that negotiations with the United States should not be allowed to drag on.
Deepening Divisions at the Top of the Ruling Establishment
Regardless of the statement’s unusually hardline content, its publication can be viewed as a sign of intensifying rivalry and divisions among different power factions within the Iranian regime. The signatories’ repeated insistence that Mojtaba Khamenei’s positions constitute the “final word,” along with their warning to officials not to deviate from them, may, in the view of some political observers, indicate that there is no complete consensus within the ruling structure on how to deal with domestic and foreign crises and that Mojtaba Khamenei’s directives do not command broad acceptance.
From this perspective, when dozens of members of the Assembly of Experts feel compelled to issue a public statement emphasizing the need to follow the positions of a particular center of power, it may itself indicate the existence of resistance, hesitation, or disagreement within other parts of the ruling establishment.
In addition to reflecting the increasingly hardline positions of part of the regime’s political establishment, the statement may also be interpreted as evidence of intensifying internal struggles at the highest levels of power. The unprecedented emphasis on following Mojtaba Khamenei’s positions is not necessarily a sign of strength but may instead reflect concerns about the extent of his influence and his ability to impose his preferred policies under the current crisis conditions. If these internal disagreements persist, this could come to be viewed as one indication of a weakening of his political position within the regime’s power structure.
