Iran’s president submits resignation, vents frustration with IRGC takeover – report

Iranian president reportedly offered his resignation to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, marking a dramatic escalation in the feud between civil leaders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran’s president has submitted a letter of resignation to the country’s supreme leader, according to an unconfirmed report published Sunday night.

Iranian officials denied the report that President Masoud Pezeshkian had submitted a resignation letter to the office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, after the opposition-linked outlet Iran International said the president had asked to step down over the growing power of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to the report, which cited a source familiar with the matter, the president said he and his government had been effectively excluded from major national decision-making and that hardline factions within the IRGC had moved into the resulting power vacuum.

The outlet said Pezeshkian wrote that he could no longer run the government or carry out his legal responsibilities under the current circumstances and had requested permission to resign immediately.

Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head of communications in the president’s office, dismissed the report as false and accused foreign media of promoting rumors.

“The rumor-mongering by the disreputable foreign network is a continuation of previous ridiculous media games,” Tabatabaei wrote on X, according to reports. “They have published their own wishful thinking in place of reality.”

“President Pezeshkian will not retreat from serving the people, just as the Iranian nation will not step back from the path of solidarity and resistance.”

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, also denied the report, citing an unnamed government source who said Pezeshkian had not resigned and was continuing his duties.

The claim comes amid months of reports of tension between Pezeshkian’s government and Iran’s military-security establishment.

Iran International previously reported that the IRGC had gradually restricted the president’s authority and taken control of key parts of the government, leaving his administration unable to pursue diplomatic talks or cabinet changes.

The reported resignation letter, if authentic, would point to one of the most serious public signs of division inside Iran’s leadership since Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father as supreme leader earlier this year.

Pezeshkian, a former health minister and longtime parliamentarian, was elected president in 2024 as a relative moderate who pledged to reduce internal tensions and seek relief from Iran’s economic isolation.

His room for maneuver has been limited by the structure of the Islamic Republic, where ultimate authority rests with the supreme leader and powerful unelected institutions, including the IRGC.

The reported dispute also comes as Iran faces intense economic pressure, security challenges and uncertainty over diplomacy with the United States and other powers.