Divisions are growing within the Iranian elite. Questions about the condition of Modjtaba Khamenei
Ali Asghar Hijazi, deputy chief of staff of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war, and Alireza Arafi, a member of the powerful Council of Guardians of the Constitution and the Interim Leadership Council, are among the clerics who have openly expressed concerns about Mojtaba Khamenei's health and leadership skills, sources told Iran International. The concerns include: his inability to maintain regular communication with President Massoud Pezeshkan and important officials.
Pressure is growing for the return of the Interim Leadership Council
Both clerics have gathered numerous supporters who want power to return to the three-person Provisional Leadership Council. Again, according to the Iranian constitution, she took over the duties of the supreme leader during the short period of “interregnum” between the death of one and the election of the next supreme leader.
What are the clerics' concerns about Mojtaba Khamenei?
Who is demanding a return to the rule of the Interim Leadership Council?
What does the first statement of the new leader of Iran say?
What changes in power did the Hijazis and Arafi suggest?
The Hijazis and Arafis not only want Council rule, but also the removal from power of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who took full control of the state during the ongoing war.
Divisions at the highest levels of government deepened especially after the election of Ali Khamenei's son, which raised fears among many Iranian clerics that the country had moved towards dynastic rule, fully subordinated and controlled by the IRGC, which in the chaos of war became Iran's most coherent and disciplined institution.
