Despite efforts to reach new ceasefire deal, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the Islamic republic is now engaged in a “full-scale war” with the US.

By World Israel News Staff

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that his country was engaged in a “full-scale war” with the United States, even as regional mediators pressed Tehran and Washington to accept a 10-day ceasefire aimed at reopening diplomatic negotiations.

“The reality is that today the Islamic Republic of Iran is engaged in a full-scale war,” Pezeshkian said, warning Iranians that the country would have to endure the consequences of continued resistance.

His statement came as the United States moved additional military aircraft toward the Middle East and considered expanding its campaign beyond the nightly strikes carried out since fighting resumed on July 7.

US attacks during the latest phase of the war have concentrated primarily on Iranian command centers, coastal radar installations, missile and drone launch sites, air-defense systems and military assets connected to the Strait of Hormuz.

American forces have largely avoided renewed attacks near Tehran and against Iran’s nuclear facilities. That restraint could end if President Donald Trump orders a broader campaign, according to US officials.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of using diplomatic language while preparing for further escalation.

Ghalibaf said the arrival of additional American military equipment demonstrated that the United States could not be trusted to halt the fighting. He added that Iran had learned to recognize what he characterized as deceptive American tactics and was preparing accordingly.

A US official separately told the Washington Post that the Trump administration was planning for the possibility of a “wider war” and was sending more military aircraft to the region.

The preparations reportedly include fighter jets and aerial-refueling tankers capable of supporting a longer and more intensive bombing campaign. Some refueling aircraft are being repositioned to Israeli military bases, where they would be less exposed than at installations in Gulf states if Iran intensified its retaliatory attacks.

President Trump is expected to decide within days whether to authorize a return to full-scale operations. Senior officials have said such a campaign would be substantially more extensive than the recent strikes and could again involve Israel.

Any major escalation, however, could be complicated by shortages of American air-defense interceptors and long-range precision weapons.

One official warned that US forces might not possess sufficient stockpiles to sustain a significantly expanded campaign while continuing to protect American bases, regional allies and commercial shipping from Iranian missiles and drones.

The Pentagon has also had to contend with damage suffered during earlier phases of the conflict, as well as growing casualties among American military personnel.

The Defense Department on Monday identified two soldiers killed in Jordan the previous week as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.

Their deaths brought the number of American service members killed since hostilities resumed to three. Nearly 100 others have reportedly been injured, although the Pentagon has said most of those wounds were minor and that many of the personnel had returned to duty.

Despite the military preparations, Iranian officials confirmed that indirect diplomatic communications with Washington remained active.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had received ideas and messages through intermediaries in recent days. He rejected the argument that Iran had to choose between negotiations and military resistance, saying diplomacy and warfare could both be used to advance national interests.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had presented Tehran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire.

Under the proposal, the United States and Iran would temporarily halt attacks while negotiators explored whether they could revive the interim agreement reached in June.

Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan and Oman have been involved in the effort. The proposed framework reportedly grew out of discussions held in Muscat and would seek to create enough time to negotiate a longer-term settlement.

The earlier memorandum called for a 60-day ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations over a final agreement addressing Iran’s nuclear program and the wider conflict.

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Iran’s leadership increasingly divided over talks with the US, as the country’s president pushes for deal to secure release of frozen assets, while hardliners in the IRGC eye takeover of the Strait of Hormuz.

By World Israel News Staff

A widening rift between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is threatening to complicate US-Iran negotiations, as Tehran’s civilian leadership prioritizes sanctions relief and frozen funds while the IRGC presses to retain control over the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

The dispute has emerged as US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Doha for talks with Qatari mediators on implementing parts of a recent US-Iran memorandum of understanding. Iranian officials said no direct high-level meeting with the American side was planned.

“No meeting at any level with the American side has been scheduled for the coming days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Baghaei said the Doha contacts would focus on implementation issues, including blocked Iranian assets.

“What will take place in Doha tomorrow is a discussion with the Qatari side about implementing parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iran’s blocked assets,” he said.

Pezeshkian has been seeking the release of $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar, part of a larger pool of frozen assets.

During a visit to Qom, where he met Grand Ayatollah Mousa Shobeiri Zanjani, the president described the US-Iran memorandum as “a great victory” for the Iranian people and said the first half of Iran’s $12 billion in frozen assets in Qatar would be returned.

But the IRGC’s focus is reportedly elsewhere: keeping command over traffic through Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Iranian military officials have pushed for a toll system that could generate as much as $40 billion a year and reinforce Iran’s leverage over Gulf shipping.

The issue has become a central obstacle in the talks. Iranian officials have argued that Tehran and Oman have sovereign authority over the strait, while Washington has rejected any arrangement that would allow Iran to collect tolls from commercial vessels.

“The sovereignty of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the Strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf, said on state television.

Vice President JD Vance rejected that position, saying, “This is not going to end in a place where the Iranians are collecting tolls on ships going through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The internal Iranian disagreement has reportedly drawn in senior clerics, with hardline religious figures siding with the IRGC’s demand that Tehran use Hormuz as a bargaining chip.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts said the strait should remain closed unless Israel halts its attacks in Lebanon.

The Hormuz dispute comes as the broader US-Iran framework remains fragile. The memorandum signed in June set a 60-day window for talks on a final agreement, including nuclear issues, sanctions relief and regional conflicts. But implementation has been slowed by indirect diplomacy, maritime clashes and competing interpretations of what Iran agreed to do in the strait.

Shipping has partially resumed through Hormuz, but traffic remains politically sensitive after recent attacks and threats disrupted tanker movement. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global oil moved through the strait.

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U.S. officials have not confirmed an unfreezing of Iranian assets, the news agencies reported.

By JNS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Qatar is bound to release $6 billion of Tehran’s frozen assets as the United States and the Islamic Republic look to de-escalate the recent flare-up in the Gulf region, with a resumption of talks in Doha expected in the coming days.

“Based on the plans made, six billion dollars out of the total 12 billion dollars of Iranian resources in Qatar will be released and returned to the country, and necessary follow-ups are being carried out,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying, per the Associated Press.

He further stated that the Memorandum of Understanding with Washington, signed on June 17, had lifted sanctions on Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, describing it as “a great victory for the Iranian people,” according to Reuters.

U.S. officials have not confirmed an unfreezing of Iranian assets, the news agencies reported.

“Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MoU. Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely,” Reuters cited a U.S. official on conditions of anonymity as saying on Sunday.

The fragile interim agreement was tested over the weekend after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly struck a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman with one-way attack drones on Thursday.

U.S. forces launched strikes against Iranian sites in response, prompting Iran to fire missiles and drones at U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday.

“There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” he added.

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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.

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Pezeshkian asked to leave office immediately, arguing that he had been excluded from major policy decisions.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly submitted his resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, after concluding that his administration could no longer function effectively as authority increasingly shifted to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), according to Iran International.

The opposition news outlet reported that Pezeshkian asked to leave office immediately, arguing that he had been excluded from major policy decisions and was no longer able to carry out the responsibilities assigned to his position under Iran’s governing system.

Neither Iranian authorities nor major international wire services had confirmed the report, and there was no immediate indication that Mojtaba Khamenei had accepted the resignation.

According to Iran International, Pezeshkian cited the expanding role of the IRGC in state affairs and said key decisions were being made outside the civilian government.

The outlet reported that the growing influence of the military organization had left the administration unable to advance diplomatic initiatives or complete planned changes to the cabinet.

The report described what it said was an ongoing transfer of authority away from elected institutions and toward senior IRGC officials and the Supreme Leader.

Executive decisions were increasingly blocked, while diplomatic efforts pursued by the president’s office were sidelined.

The IRGC has gradually reduced presidential authority and taken effective control over significant sectors of government activity, leaving Pezeshkian’s administration in what sources described as a political and executive impasse.

The IRGC’s influence extends beyond security matters. According to The Jerusalem Post, the organization controls between 20% and 40% of Iran’s economy. \

The group oversees much of the country’s oil-export network through sanctions-evasion mechanisms that include “dark fleet” oil tankers and smuggling routes, directing revenue toward its military-industrial activities, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The Council on Foreign Relations reported that the IRGC also maintains an extensive domestic security and intelligence apparatus, including the Basij militia, which monitors dissent and helps ensure that only IRGC-aligned candidates can attain significant political influence.

The reported resignation has not been independently confirmed.

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Iran’s economic crisis deepens as oil blockade and sanctions squeeze regime, prompting senior officials to warn of Tehran’s possible collapse.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran is facing a worsening economic crisis as US pressure on its oil exports, disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and rising food prices fuel growing concern inside the regime over renewed public unrest.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night that a US maritime blockade and targeted military strikes have sharply reduced Iran’s oil income, weakened the local currency and left Tehran with dwindling access to foreign currency reserves, prompting Iran’s president to issue a dire warning regarding the regime’s future.

The report cited estimates by the firm Capital Economics which said that Iran’s accessible foreign currency reserves are now sufficient to cover only about three months of imports.

The economic pressure has spread into daily life. Food prices have surged, the rial has continued to lose value, internet service has been disrupted and more than a million Iranians have reportedly been pushed out of work.

A Tehran artist quoted in the report described the pace of inflation through the price of a common household food item.

“In March, I bought about a pound of Lighvan cheese — a popular staple in many Iranian households — for 450,000 toman. Now, the same thing costs 800,000 toman,” she said. “Everyone’s worry is how much they will have to pay tomorrow for things they bought today.”

The Guardian reported this week that the partial lifting of internet restrictions in Iran exposed widespread anger over food prices, with sharp annual increases in staples including vegetable oil, chicken and rice. It said food inflation has reached between 140% and 200%, while overall inflation has risen to about 70%.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly acknowledged the pressure.

Speaking to members of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, he warned that the country’s main struggle is now economic.

“The main war is in the economic field. If you fail, the country will fail,” Pezeshkian said, according to the Journal.

Iranian officials have also urged the public to cut consumption of fuel, electricity and water as the government seeks to manage shortages and infrastructure strain.

Behnam Bakhshi, a spokesman for Tehran’s provincial water company, said “all executive bodies, organizations and public institutions — governmental and non-governmental — are required to install water-saving equipment and manage consumption.”

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the administration was considering an urgent increase in subsidy vouchers for low-income Iranians and urged citizens “to trust the government and its efforts to preserve purchasing power.”

The crisis has intensified scrutiny of Iran’s oil-smuggling network, often described as its “shadow fleet.”

The Wall Street Journal said the network includes roughly 1,500 aging tankers with hidden ownership structures, weak or nonexistent insurance and flags of convenience used to move sanctioned Iranian oil to buyers, especially in China.

The report said a key transfer zone is the Eastern Outer Port Limits off Malaysia, where tankers conduct ship-to-ship transfers outside territorial waters. According to the report, suspected covert oil transfers in the area rose from 280 in 2023 to 679 in 2025.

In such operations, tankers often turn off navigation systems, obscure names and identification numbers and transfer large quantities of crude to other vessels before the cargo is sent onward to private Chinese refineries.

Reuters has also reported that Washington continues to target companies and individuals accused of helping move Iranian oil to China. In May, the US Treasury announced sanctions on networks it said used shell companies, shipping firms and “shadow fleet” tankers to arrange Iranian oil sales.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would continue trying to deprive Tehran of funds used for weapons, its nuclear program and regional proxies.

“Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize the global economy,” Bessent said.

Iran brought in about $31 billion from China over the past year, accounting for about 90% of its oil exports and roughly 45% of the regime’s budget.

Vortexa estimates that about 90 million barrels of Iranian oil are currently held in floating storage at sea.

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Two U.S. officials said Trump is expected to meet with his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to review military options.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would not relinquish the “legal rights of the people and the country” even as it engages in diplomacy, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a planned military strike at the request of Gulf leaders who urged more time for negotiations.

“Dialogue does not mean surrender,” Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X on Monday, adding that the Islamic Republic would enter talks with “dignity” and “authority” while safeguarding national interests and honor.

He said Iran would continue to serve its people “with logic and with all our might.”

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official told Axios journalist Barak Ravid on Monday that the White House believes the Iranian regime’s new offer is inadequate and risks the renewal of the war.

“We are really not making a lot of progress. We are at a very serious place today. The pressure is on them to be responsive in the right way,” the senior U.S. official said.

“It’s time for the Iranians to throw a bit of candy out. We need some real, sturdy and granular conversation [regarding the nuclear program]. If that’s not gonna happen, we will have a conversation through bombs, which will be a shame.”

Two U.S. officials said Trump is expected to meet with his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to review military options.

https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/2056391108985270331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2056391108985270331%7Ctwgr%5E782c7e8497f61a1aaecff0b82a0430adf8a9489b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Firanian-president-dialogue-does-not-mean-surrender

Trump in a Monday press conference provided more details on his earlier Truth Social post announcing that a planned military strike for Tuesday had been delayed.

“I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. And if we can do that where there’s no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think and if they’re satisfied, we will be probably satisfied also,” the president told reporters.

“We’ve informed Israel. We’ve informed other people in the Middle East that have been involved with us, and it’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything. We’ve had periods of time where we’ve had, we thought pretty much getting close to making a deal and didn’t work out, but this is a little bit different,” Trump said.

“Now we were ready to go tomorrow very big and not something I wanted to do, but we have no choice because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

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Pezeshkian reportedly clashed with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warning that attacks on the United Arab Emirates could sink the ceasefire and lead Iran back into full-scale war.

By World Israel News Staff

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has clashed with military leaders over missile and drone strikes on the United Arab Emirates on Monday, warning that the escalation could push Iran back into full-scale war, Iran International reported.

The report, citing sources familiar with the deliberations in Tehran, said Pezeshkian was angered by actions taken by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and described the attacks on the UAE as “completely irresponsible.”

The sources said Pezeshkian also called the IRGC’s approach to escalating tensions with regional states “madness,” warning of potentially irreversible consequences.

The claims could not be independently verified.

According to the report, Pezeshkian has sought an urgent meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei to push for an immediate halt to IRGC attacks on Gulf states and to preserve what remains of the US-Iran ceasefire.

The reported rift comes after Iran launched missile and drone attacks on the UAE and ships in the Strait of Hormuz, in the most serious escalation since the April 8 truce.

Britain condemned the Iranian strikes, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Tehran to return to “meaningful negotiations” to preserve the ceasefire.

Iranian and US accounts of the situation at sea remained sharply at odds.

US officials said commercial ships continued to move through the Strait of Hormuz and that Iranian threats had been contained. The IRGC denied that any passage was taking place and warned that “violating vessels” would be stopped, Iran International reported.

President Donald Trump stopped short of declaring the ceasefire broken, telling ABC News that the exchanges amounted to “not heavy firing” and that “ships are moving.”

The UAE said it intercepted Iranian drones, while US Central Command denied Iranian claims that a US warship had been hit near the Strait of Hormuz, according to live regional coverage.

A report by CNN said that at least one of the Iranian missiles launched towards the UAE was intercepted by an Israeli Iron Dome missile battery, operated by an Israeli crew.

Pezeshkian reportedly believes Iran still has a narrow window to salvage the ceasefire through diplomacy and wants authority to signal to international mediators that Tehran is ready to resume negotiations.

Sources close to the presidency told Iran International that Pezeshkian fears continued unilateral attacks could trigger major US retaliation against Iranian energy and economic infrastructure, with severe consequences for the country’s already strained economy.

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As long as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains intact and its leadership unaccountable for the killing of thousands of Iranians and its regional activities, reformist figures are likely to continue falling in line.

By Mardo Soghom, Middle East Forum

Reports circulating in Iranian diaspora media and on social platforms suggest that President Masoud Pezeshkian has lost what little authority he had and is now operating under the tight control of current Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaders.

While such claims appear plausible, Iranian presidents never have exercised power over matters of war and peace—particularly now, when there is no visible, functioning supreme authority at the apex of the system.

There has been no proof of life for Mojtaba Khamenei, who reportedly succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, in early March 2026, in more than four weeks.

U.S. or Israeli air strikes have eliminated other influential figures, including former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani and senior security figure Ali Shamkhani.

In such a vacuum, a near-total consolidation of power by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be unsurprising.

In this context, Pezeshkian reportedly has continued to push for the restoration of executive and administrative authority to the government.

The effort has met resistance from Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi, who has attributed the economic crisis to the president’s failure to pursue structural reforms before the outbreak of hostilities; there are unconfirmed rumors that Vahidi died in a March 29, 2026, airstrike.

Pezeshkian also has warned that the country cannot withstand sustained economic pressure for more than two to three weeks, underscoring the urgency of a ceasefire.

He has called for a halt in attacks on neighboring countries, while also issuing threats of retaliation.

Although the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei enabled the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ rise as the dominant political force over the past two decades, he sought a façade of institutional balance between the presidency and the military.

Since around 2011, however, the regime has reduced presidents to technocratic administrators—tasked with managing a deteriorating economy while aligning themselves with the leadership’s strategic direction and only signaling muted concern about militarization.

In mid-2017, a newly re-elected and emboldened President Hassan Rouhani openly criticized the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as “men with guns” wielding disproportionate influence over the economy and political life.

Within days, he was forced to reverse course, meet Revolutionary Guard leaders in the presence of Qods Force Chief Qasem Soleimani, and abandon any pretense of independent authority.

One anonymous post on X has alleged that Pezeshkian is suffering from severe psychological strain—unable to sleep, eat, or function coherently—and should be removed.

While such claims may be disinformation circulated by Revolutionary Guard-linked channels, there is little doubt that Pezeshkian—already seen as awkward and ineffective—faces pressure and has limited room to maneuver.

The Reformist Front, which had cautiously supported the president, has largely fallen silent on the need to resolve tensions with the United States and halt the war.

Individual figures have occasionally voiced support for “unity” and “resistance,” but avoided confronting the structural drivers of the crisis.

Major reformist politicians have criticized militarism and warned about economic decline yet have done little to alter the trajectory set by the regime’s hardline core.

During successive waves of nationwide protests, they either aligned themselves with Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or withheld meaningful support from demonstrators.

Their political survival, economic interests, and institutional roles remain deeply intertwined with the system.

As a result, reformists have lost much of their remaining public credibility, reflected in sharply declining voter participation since 2020 and repeated nationwide protests—in 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2026—that have rejected both the ruling establishment and its reformist wing.

As long as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains intact and its leadership unaccountable for the killing of thousands of Iranians and its regional activities, reformist figures are likely to continue falling in line.

U.S. and Israeli strikes on regime targets in Tehran intensified on March 28, as Revolutionary Guard-linked media emphasized their own attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iranian military officials continued to threaten a response to any U.S. ground incursion, while claiming to have reduced tanker traffic from the Persian Gulf by as much as 95 percent.

Meanwhile, Nima Monsefi, an Iranian analyst in Australia, urged residents of coastal areas to move at least fifty miles inland, anticipating possible U.S. military action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He warned that civilians who remain could become human shields for the Revolutionary Guard in the event of escalation.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian butts heads with IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi over handling of the war; Pezeshkian warns Iran’s economy could collapse in weeks.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran’s civil and military leaders are reportedly clashing over the handling of the war, according to an Iran International report citing sources familiar with the dispute.

The sources say that there is a growing rift between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi regarding the regime’s future as the war with the United States and Israel enters its second month.

Pezeshkian has reportedly warned that continued escalation and attacks on neighboring countries could push Iran’s economy toward collapse within three to four weeks if no ceasefire is reached.

The sources cited in the report also said that Pezeshkian criticized the Revolutionary Guards’ approach and pressed for greater authority to be returned to the civilian administration.

Vahidi is said to have rejected Pezeshkian’s call for the IRGC to give greater control to civil authorities, while blaming the Iranian government for failing to carry out structural reforms before the war broke out.

This is not the first time Pezeshkian has publicly signaled his concern over the stability of the regime.

In a March 7 video message, he apologized for what he described as “fire at will” attacks by Iran’s armed forces on neighboring countries and said such strikes should stop.

According to the report, Iran’s economy – which was already under heavy strain prior to the outbreak of the war – is showing signs of continued decline, with disruptions at ATMs and online banking systems.

The government has failed to pay the salaries of many state employees, some of whom have not received their wages in three months, while inflation continues to run at triple-digit levels.

In their recent talks, Pezeshkian has warned Vahidi that unless Iran secures a ceasefire in the near future, the country’s economy could face a total collapse in the next three to four weeks.

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly considering resigning following killings of high-profile regime officials and amid growing internal dissent within the government.

By World Israel News Staff

Iran’s president is considering resigning from office following a wave of high-profile killings of top regime officials, Israel’s Channel 14 reported Tuesday.

Sources familiar with the details say that President Masoud Pezeshkian is seriously considering quitting due to his frustrations with the regime following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the outset of the war.

After Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council; Larijani’s deputy; Larijani’s son; and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij militia were killed in strikes on Tehran early Tuesday morning, Pezeshkian reportedly sought a meeting with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, to submit his resignation. His request was refused.

The report is the latest indication of a deep rift within the Iranian regime and comes amid claims that Iran’s president is increasingly frustrated with the IRGC.

Pezeshkian, according to Tuesday’s report, lashed out at the IRGC, calling its leaders reckless and accusing them of failing to shield Larijani from Israeli airstrikes, with some sources claiming Pezeshkian even suggested the IRGC intentionally exposed Larijani.

Larijani, the sources say, may have been placed in a vulnerable position under the orders of Ahmad Vahidi, commander in chief of the IRGC.

Prior to his assassination, Larijani was widely perceived as the de facto ruler of Iran and was the primary rival of Vahidi within the regime.

Even before Larijani’s killing, Pezeshkian reportedly vented his frustrations over the IRGC’s behavior and objected to the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader.

According to a report by IranWire, Pezeshkian was shocked to discover that the IRGC had no comprehensive postwar plan.

Outraged, the president excoriated an IRGC official, mocking the IRGC’s belief that the conflict with the US and Israel would rally the Iranian people around the regime.

After Larijani was eliminated, Pezeshkian was said to have warned that “the entire system is collapsing” while lamenting that the IRGC appears to be taking control of the Islamic Republic.

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Iran’s president reportedly outraged over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ failure to engage in any day-after planning and objects to the selection of several senior officials, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

By World Israel News Staff

The Iranian regime has failed to engage in any serious postwar planning, dedicating its efforts to the current conflict with Israel and the United States, according to a source close to the administration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

On Monday, the anti-regime outlet IranWire published a report citing an unnamed source with ties to the Iranian government who said that Iran’s president was outraged after he discovered that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the paramilitary body that enforces the Islamic Republic’s authority inside Iran, has not drafted a plan for the day after the current war.

According to the report, Pezeshkian told IRGC representatives that once the current war is over, Iran will again face severe economic pressure and rising public dissatisfaction, and he urged them to start coordinating now with the government to manage those problems.

An IRGC official reportedly responded by downplaying the need for a comprehensive postwar plan, arguing that the US and Israeli air campaigns have bolstered support for the regime among Iranians, rallying the public behind the government.

The IRGC official drew parallels between the war with Israel and the US to the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, during which internal opposition to the regime faded as Iranians focused on the external threat posed by the Iraqi military.

Pezeshkian dismissed the IRGC official’s argument, warning that the current conflict was not comparable to the Iran-Iraq War and called on the IRGC to engage in serious preparations for the end of the war.

The source cited in the report also noted tensions within the regime, stating that Pezeshkian has repeatedly objected to the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader.

Noting that the younger Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded in the February 28 strikes that killed his father, has made no public appearances since being selected as supreme leader, Pezeshkian said the country cannot be governed “in absentia.”

In his place, the president suggested that Iran either be governed by a more charismatic ruler, who can rebuild ties with the public, or a leadership council.

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Pezeshkian apologized to Arab Gulf states for the effects of Iranian drone and missile strikes aimed at US bases.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Reports of explosions emerged across parts of the Gulf on Saturday evening, including in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as regional tensions persisted despite earlier remarks from Iran’s president suggesting attacks in the area could stop.

In Bahrain, witnesses described hearing multiple loud blasts. It was not immediately known whether the sounds were caused by missiles striking targets or by air defense systems intercepting them.

Iran’s official Fars news agency reported that there were “massive explosions at US bases in Bahrain.”

Bahraini authorities later said damage had been recorded in the capital.

The Bahraini Ministry of the Interior wrote in a social media post that “Iranian aggression caused a fire and material damage to a house and several surrounding buildings in Manama.”

Elsewhere in the Gulf, additional explosions were reported. CNN staff in Qatar said they heard several loud bangs, while journalists in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, reported at least three blasts.

The UAE’s National Security Council said defensive systems were responding to the situation.

In a message posted on X, the council said, “Air defense systems are currently responding to a missile threat,” and urged residents to “remain in a safe location.”

The reported blasts came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier addressed the impact of Iranian attacks on neighboring countries.

Pezeshkian apologized to Arab Gulf states for the effects of Iranian drone and missile strikes aimed at US bases and said Iran would halt attacks on neighboring countries unless it was attacked first.

Later, his office issued what it described as an “explanation” of his comments.

According to the statement, Pezeshkian’s position was that “if regional countries do not cooperate in America’s attack on us, we will not attack them.”

Despite those remarks earlier in the day, the explosions reported Saturday evening suggested that tensions across the Gulf remained high, with several countries in the region hosting US military facilities and operating air defense systems in response to missile threats.

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Opponents of the Iranian government said the congratulatory note risked appearing inconsistent with the U.N.’s stated concerns.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A formal message from U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres congratulating Iran on the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution has triggered criticism from Iranian opposition figures and human rights advocates, particularly after the brutal crackdown against protesters, IRNA reports.

According to Iranian state and regional reports published Wednesday, Guterres wrote to President Masoud Pezeshkian to convey his “warmest congratulations on the National Day of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The letter characterized such national observances as opportunities to reflect on a country’s historical path and its contributions to the international community.

The communication was issued shortly after the United Nations’ leading human rights body condemned Tehran over its response to anti-government demonstrations and mandated continued investigation into alleged abuses.

Some accounts have cited possible casualty figures of up to 30,000, though those numbers remain unverified.

Opponents of the Iranian government said the congratulatory note risked appearing inconsistent with the U.N.’s stated concerns.

Analyst Banafsheh Zand told Fox News the message as “not merely diplomatic routine — it is abjectly tone-deaf,” adding that “at a time when the Iranian people continue to endure executions, repression and systemic abuse at the hands of the Islamic Republic, offering formal congratulations to the architects of that suffering reads as a moral failure.”

She further argued that such gestures “erode [the U.N.’s] credibility and deepen the wound for those still fighting for freedom inside Iran.”

Andrew Ghalili, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, said, “The United Nations is legitimizing a regime built on repression, executions and the systematic destruction of basic freedoms,” asserting that commemorating the revolution overlooks “the bloodshed, the repression of protesters and the ongoing hostage-taking of innocent people.”

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric defended the correspondence as standard practice, saying identical letters are sent annually to member states marking national holidays and “should not be interpreted… as an endorsement of whatever policies may be put in place by the government.”

He added that the message “doesn’t change the secretary-general’s view” on Iran’s conduct, noting Guterres has previously spoken out about the crackdown.

Separately, NGO U.N. Watch reported that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to address the Human Rights Council on Feb. 23, a decision Dujarric said rests with the council itself.

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Pezeshkian’s remarks came a day after Trump sharply escalated his criticism of Khamenei, calling him “a sick man” and saying, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that any attack on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would constitute an act of war, responding to escalating rhetoric from President Donald Trump calling for new leadership in Iran.

In a post on X, Pezeshkian said that “an attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation,” framing threats against Khamenei as a direct confrontation with Iran itself.

He also blamed the United States and its allies for economic hardship inside the country, as nationwide protests that began last month over rising prices and economic pressure evolved into mass demonstrations against the regime. Thousands were reported killed during the unrest.

Pezeshkian’s remarks came a day after Trump sharply escalated his criticism of Khamenei, calling him “a sick man” and saying, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” according to Politico.The comments appeared to mark the first time Trump directly questioned the supreme leader’s continued rule rather than criticizing Iran’s system more broadly.

Trump said his comments followed what he described as hostile social media posts from Khamenei, who had accused the US president of provoking unrest and labeled him a criminal over protest-related deaths.

Trump responded by placing personal responsibility on the Iranian leader, accusing him of destroying the country through repression and violence.

“The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump said, adding that Iran’s conditions reflected what he described as catastrophic leadership. He later expanded on the point, saying Khamenei was guilty of “the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before.”

Trump argued that governance based on fear and mass violence was incompatible with legitimate leadership. “Leadership is about respect, not fear and death,” he said, criticizing the killing of protesters “by the thousands” to maintain control.

Earlier Saturday, Khamenei acknowledged for the first time that the demonstrations had resulted in several thousand deaths, speaking in a televised address on state television. He called on authorities to suppress what he described as “sedition.”

Trump’s remarks followed a shift in his own posture toward Tehran. On Friday, he said he had backed away from the idea of striking Iran after the regime allegedly canceled the planned executions of 800 protesters.

Days earlier, Trump warned Iran against further killings. He encouraged demonstrators to “take over institutions,” promising that “help is on its way.”

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President Donald Trump issued a threat against Iran should they kill unarmed protesters, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s support for the Iranian people.

By Dinah Bucholz, Jewish Breaking News

President Masoud Pezeshkian confessed on television that the government can’t rein in the protesters. “We should not expect the government to handle all of this alone,” he said, because “the government simply does not have that capacity.”

This is a stunning admission for a regime long known for its brutal crackdowns.

Yesterday’s protests at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the backbone of Iran’s economy, threaten the foundation of Iran’s government and mark a new battleground in the escalating protests, coming as they did after the deaths of 35 people, including four children, as well as the detention of 1,200 protesters.

The shopkeepers had supported the 1979 revolution, so their unexpected participation in this round of protests, as well as the sit-in they staged on Tuesday, surprised and encouraged many, forcing riot police to deploy heavy amounts of tear gas.

The closure of their shops shows that the crisis is deepening.

The unrest has reached new levels. After a funeral for slain protesters, mourners stormed three banks and caused considerable damage, the Fars news agency (a semi-official news outlet) reported.

Others broke into a store and stole rice.

President Donald Trump issued a threat against Iran should they kill unarmed protesters, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s support for the Iranian people.

This provoked a backlash from Iranian leadership, who threatened a harsh response should any other country intervene.

According to the Fars news agency, General Amir Hatami, Iran’s military chief, warned, “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding.”

The implosion of the rial currency, steep inflation, and decades of brutal repression combined with a terrible economy have all reached a boiling point.

To ameliorate the situation, the Central Bank of Iran lowered the dollar exchange rate, but this will only cause the prices of basic goods, already prohibitively expensive, to skyrocket further, merchants warned. This is pushing Iranian citizens to greater desperation.

The shopkeepers, who had always been considered reliable supporters of the regime, can no longer tolerate a climax of mismanagement that has been years in the making.

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