A crack in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s “united front” has just appeared, with the less fanatical — President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammed-Bagher Ghalibaf — now attacking the more fanatical members of the government, including Saeed Jalili and Amir-Hossein Sabeti, accusing them of “destroying Iran” by opposing negotiations with the Americans. Ghalibaf has publicly denounced those who, like Jalili and Sabeti, oppose talking to the Americans; these hardliners believe that Iran holds all the cards, and need not make any concessions to the “Great Satan.” They apparently believe that even agreeing to hold talks is a sign of weakness and must be avoided. They think Iran can continue to hold onto its 440kg. of uranium enriched to a level of 60%, just one level below weapons-grade enrichment, continue to build back up its store of ballistic missiles, and continue to support terror groups elsewhere in the region, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, without suffering any consequences.
These hardliners also believe that by continuing to launch missiles and drones at targets in Gulf Arab states, including airports, oil and gas production facilities, power plants, and American bases, they will so damage those states that they, in turn, will pressure the Americans to end their war against Iran. In fact, these attacks by Iran on Gulf Arab states have only increased their rage against the Islamic Republic, and made them hope that the Americans and the Israelis will finally so weaken Iran that Iranians will at long last be able to overturn the Islamic Republic that has tormented them for 47 years.
More on this conflict among Iran’s leaders can be found here: “‘They will destroy Iran’: Tehran’s Ghalibaf denounces critics of Iran holding US talks – report,” by James Genn, Jerusalem Post, April 20, 2026:
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammed-Bagher Ghalibaf, denounced political figures in Tehran who oppose holding ceasefire talks with the US, London-based anti-regime outlet Iran International reported on Monday.
Ghalibaf, who jointly heads Tehran’s delegation at negotiations with the US along with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, called out opponents of the talks, saying that they will “destroy Iran” by attempting to prevent US talks.
The report names two hardline politicians, Saeed Jalili and Amir-Hossein Sabeti, as being picked out by Ghalibaf as “extremists.”
Ghalibaf emphasized that this “militant current” is seeking to intensify opposition to holding talks with the US by using Iran’s state broadcasters and provoking Iranian civilians by supporting fundamentalists and hardliners, according to the report….
As of now, it looks as if the wiser heads — those of Ghalibaf, Araghchi, and Pezeshkian — will not prevail. After the first negotiating session, that lasted for 21 hours with no results, the Americans were expecting an Iranian delegation to renew the talks in Islamabad. Iran at first declined to participate in the second round of negotiations, citing “excessive demands” from the US and an ongoing naval blockade. But on April 20, Iran announced that it would, after all, be sending a delegation to Islamabad on April 21.
Trump is still demanding that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping by the end of Wednesday, April 22. Otherwise he has promised to destroy all of Iran’s bridges and power plants. Sabeti and Jalili think Trump is bluffing, and will back down, as he has so many times before, after making hair-raising threats; they want there to be no concessions from Iran. Araghchi, Pezeshkian and, especially, Ghalibaf, are convinced Trump means it this time, that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz as he demands, there will be massive destruction of Iranian infrastructure. At this point, despite Iran sending negotiators for a second time to Islamabad, Jalili and Sabeti and other hardliners in Tehran appear still to have the upper hand; if Iran fails to make any concessions, beginning with the disposition of the enriched uranium, that should mean that within a week or two, after the Islamic Republic’s intransigence becomes clear, over the skies of Iran it will be bombs away. Polymarket bettors take note.
Wellington says
Well, matters very fluid and all kinds of dynamics are at play presently but here I would proffer a certainty, i.e., the Iranian hardliners’ best ally in their holding out is the Democratic Party of the USA and its surrogates like the MSM. If anyone knows of a more stalwart ally of these decrepit and barbaric hardliners I would welcome being informed who they are.
Has it come to this whereby America’s single greatest enemy is the enemy within? Yes it has.
Huh?!? says
Agreed. Demonrats are the enemy within. Islam will never negotiate in good faith. It is time to bomb them back into the 7th century.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
You got there before I did, but at least I got there:
The Democratic Party with its mainstream propaganda media are – indeed – the enemy within.
OLD GUY says
+ one
࿗Infidel࿘ says
On Goldie & Armin’s show, she had Murad Vehsi, a Farsi-language analyst for Iran International, talking about polls that said that something like 74% of Iranians are opposed to negotiations. Vehsi pointed out that this 74% comes in 2 groups:
➤ Regime supporters opposed to any compromise w/ US, who swallow the regime’s propaganda hook, line & sinker, and who believe that the islamic republic has the upper hand in this war
➤ Those who want the regime overthrown
The only silver lining about this wastage of time is that the blockade of Iran is ensuring that not just the ordinary people of Iran, but even the IRGC and regime people are not getting their paychecks. Hopefully, that’ll bring about a speedy end to this saga