President Pezeshkian vs IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi
Reports from Iran say that Pezeshkian requested a meeting yesterday with the Supreme Leader, asking him to instruct the IRGC to halt the renewed attacks on the Gulf countries.
He also called for notifying the mediators about the renewal of negotiations for an agreement.
The sources claim that Pezeshkian believes Iran cannot afford a renewed war.
However, in reality the President of Iran serves just as a marionette. The person holding the office has no real power and has never had it.
Iran’s political system is a hybrid theocratic-republican structure established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Supreme Leader stands at the apex with ultimate authority as head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and overseer of all major policies.
The President in serves as head of government and handles day-to-day executive functions, such as managing the cabinet, implementing laws, and conducting some diplomacy.
However, the constitution subordinates the entire executive branch to the Supreme Leader.
The IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi is in many ways much more influential than Pezeshkian as the IRGC is a parallel military force which was separated from the regular army with the only goal of safeguarding the Islamist revolution and coup-proofing the dictatorship.
The IRGC reports directly to the Supreme Leader, not the president, and controls key economic assets, missile programs and all foreign operations.
It functions as the regime’s ideological enforcer and praetorian guard.
From the outset, the system prioritizes velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the Islamic jurist), concentrating real power in the unelected Supreme Leader to ensure ideological and religious conformity over elected officials.
Presidents can be overruled, sidelined and have their ministers blocked.
The hardline military and clerical elements rule in Iran. There are no real reformists within the regime and there can never be any.