Iran’s hardline power brokers are offering a bizarre explanation for why the public still isn’t seeing fresh images of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, even as the regime’s military wing tightens its grip and the U.S.-Iran ceasefire teeters on the edge.
Velayatmadar, an IRGC commander and member of Iran’s parliamentary National Security Commission, said on Thursday no new images of Mojtaba Khamenei will be released due to security concerns, including fears that enemies could use “occult sciences” to harm him.
The excuse comes as Washington is narrowing the clock. The White House confirmed Wednesday that Trump’s extension of the ceasefire with Tehran will last only three to five days, a short runway as negotiations hang by a thread. The original ceasefire was set to expire Tuesday night before Trump stepped in.
Trump has framed the extension as a final chance for Tehran to get its act together. He said the extra time is meant to allow Iran to present a “unified proposal” so talks can restart in Pakistan. If that doesn’t happen, he has already drawn a hard line, warning the U.S. would move to eliminate Iran’s energy and transportation infrastructure.
But the deeper problem for diplomacy may be that Iran’s civilian leadership is increasingly sidelined. New reporting says the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is not just calling shots on the battlefield, but increasingly calling shots in the government.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime’s powerful military arm, has blocked President Masoud Pezeshkian’s appointments and tightened security around Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to a report from Iran International. The outlet said the IRGC has effectively taken over key state functions, sidelining elected leadership as tensions escalate.
“It was always a matter of when, not if, the IRGC was going to step forward even more than it has in the last three decades,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News.
The report describes Pezeshkian’s government as stuck in gridlock, with the president facing a “complete political deadlock” as clashes with military leadership intensify. Analysts warn that a stronger IRGC likely means a more confrontational Iran, less willing to compromise with Washington and more inclined to keep military pressure across the region.
“But it’s a mistake to assume this is some sort of coup,” Ben Taleblu said. “This has been the process in Iran for years now, as the regime has chosen conflict over cooperation and emboldened its security forces at every juncture.”
Behind the scenes, Iran International reported that Pezeshkian’s attempt to install a new intelligence minister collapsed after pushback from IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi. Sources told the outlet that multiple candidates, including former Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, were rejected. Vahidi argued that wartime conditions require the Revolutionary Guard to control all sensitive posts for now.
“By any standard, Vahidi is considered a radical even within the regime’s hardline elite, and his rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine now calls the shots,” Lisa Daftari, a foreign policy analyst and journalist, told Fox News Digital.
At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz is turning into a live-fire pressure point. Iranian forces opened fire on commercial vessels in the strait on Wednesday and took two ships into custody, according to Iranian state media and a maritime security alert from the United Kingdom.
The reported seizures came the same day Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran through Wednesday after peace talks in Pakistan were canceled. U.S. officials said the ceasefire will continue until Tehran presents a “unified proposal” to restart negotiations.
Despite the temporary truce, the United States is keeping its blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea. Iran has treated the blockade as provocation, and Wednesday’s ship seizures were a blunt reminder of how fast the conflict can spill into global commerce.
Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took control of the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and the Liberia-flagged Epaminondas and began bringing both vessels toward Iran. The reports also said Iranian forces fired on a third vessel in the strait but did not take it into custody.
MORE ON IRAN: REPORT: Top Iranian Negotiator Ousted In Shocking Development
International vessel tracking from Marine Traffic showed both ships stationary off Iran’s coast in the strait. The first public warning of the incident came from the United Kingdom Maritime Operations, which reported an IRGC gunboat caused significant damage to the bridge of one of the container ships.
Put it all together and the picture is ugly for would-be peacemakers: a ceasefire that keeps getting patched together in short bursts, a regime whose civilian side appears boxed out by the IRGC, and a critical oil chokepoint that can be destabilized in minutes. Even Iran’s messaging reflects the paranoia and disorder, with officials now leaning on “occult sciences” as a reason to hide their top leader while the country’s military wing clamps down and the risks to global shipping rise by the hour.
Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>
