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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly submitted an official letter of resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, according to a exclusive report published on Sunday by the London-based Iran International, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter. The news was immediately denied by official sources of the regime, leading to directly contradictory accounts regarding the political status of the Iranian government.
According to the source cited by Iran International, Pezeshkian argued in the letter that the president and his government had been excluded from the country's most important decision-making processes, and that the vacuum created by this situation had allowed hardline factions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to take control of key issues.
The president reportedly indicated that under those circumstances it was impossible for him to govern and fulfill his legal responsibilities, thus he requested to resign immediately.
Iran International specified that it was unclear whether the Office of the Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei would accept the resignation, although it emphasized that the content of the letter indicated a deep and unprecedented rift at the highest levels of power.
The official response did not take long to arrive. The Tasnim agency, affiliated with the IRGC, cited a government source claiming that Pezeshkian had not resigned and was continuing to perform his duties. Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy director of communications at the Presidency, dismissed the report on X and affirmed that the president "will not resign from serving the people."
A government official from the Presidency was more emphatic: "The spreading of rumors by the discredited foreign network is a continuation of the ridiculous media games from before. They have published their own illusions instead of the reality. They will take their desire to destroy the unity of the Iranian nation to the grave."
The Iranian agency ISNA published statements attributed to Pezeshkian himself, in which he stated: "We will continue on this path with strength and determination as long as we have life in our bodies. Either we carry on our management with strength, or we become martyrs."
Pezeshkian himself published a message in Persian on his X account that called for unity without mentioning resignation: "Facing great challenges without enduring hardships is not possible. This shared pain will never heal in isolation."
The episode takes place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the civilian government and the IRGC. Iran International had previously reported that the military body had gradually restricted presidential powers and taken effective control of key parts of the government. In May, Pezeshkian reportedly described an IRGC attack on the United Arab Emirates, carried out without the government's knowledge, as "completely irresponsible" and "madness."
It is worth noting that Iran International is a media outlet opposing the Iranian regime, with ties to Saudi investors, and Media Bias/Fact Check rates it as having mixed credibility due to its frequent use of anonymous sources, which necessitates taking its exclusives with caution.
The internal crisis occurs while the U.S. and Iran negotiate the extension of the ceasefire and a potential nuclear agreement. President Donald Trump described the Iranian negotiators as "very tough" on Sunday and had said in April that the regime was "seriously fractured," citing internal divisions as a reason to extend the ceasefire indefinitely.
This Sunday, Trump also sent changes to the peace agreement proposed to Iran, without any public announcement of his "final determination" regarding the pact, according to sources close to the White House.
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