Iranian administrative impasse as IRGC takes control of governance, bypassing the president

An internecine feud within the Iranian administration over key decision-making, where President Masoud Pezeshkian faces being overruled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has reportedly taken control of key governance, particularly pertaining to the security of the newly appointed Supreme Leader, whose disappearance from the public eye is said to have stirred the situation further.

Mounting friction between Pezeshkian’s administration and Iran’s entrenched military establishment has, according to sources cited by Iran International, precipitated what insiders describe as a complete political impasse, and the IRGC is alleged to have tightened its grip over appointments, administrative directives and security portfolios, thereby constricting the executive branch’s operational autonomy.

Officials familiar with the developments suggested that several presidential decisions, including senior nominations, were either delayed or obstructed, and the resulting paralysis has significantly diluted the government’s functional authority.

A recent attempt by the president to appoint a new intelligence minister reportedly collapsed after intervention from IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, whose insistence that sensitive leadership roles remain under military oversight during what he termed a wartime environment underscored the Guards’ expanding influence.

Traditionally, the president proposes candidates for intelligence leadership only after consultation with the supreme authority, yet uncertainty surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei’s condition and restricted accessibility appears to have complicated the approval process, inadvertently enabling the IRGC to consolidate institutional control.

Sources further indicated that a tightening security cordon around Mojtaba Khamenei has limited access even for senior political figures, and Pezeshkian’s reported attempts to secure a direct meeting have remained unanswered, with communication channels effectively curtailed.

Discontent within the cleric’s inner circle has intensified, as disagreements over succession prospects surfaced, particularly involving senior aide Ali Asghar Hejazi, whose opposition to hereditary leadership is believed to have deepened factional fissures and exacerbated the ongoing governance crisis.