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Resignation claim vs denial
Iran International reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian submitted a resignation letter to the Office of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, saying his administration was excluded from major decision-making while hard-line factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) assumed control over key affairs.
“Iran International also said it was unclear whether the office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei would accept the resignation.”
The report said Pezeshkian wrote he was unable to govern effectively or fulfil his legal responsibilities and had requested to step down immediately, while it remained unclear whether the office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei would accept the resignation.
Iran’s presidential office deputy of communications and information dissemination, Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, dismissed the reports as baseless, saying, "The baseless and controversial statements of a fame-seeking young person" should not be taken seriously.
Tabatabaei rejected the resignation narrative as a continuation of foreign media games, adding, "President Pezeshkian will not retreat from serving the people" as the Iranian government denied the claim.
IRGC control dispute
Iran International’s account, as repeated by multiple outlets, centered on Pezeshkian’s claim that the IRGC had effectively taken over large portions of the government and sidelined the president and other high-ranking officials from vital decision-making.
A government information committee statement attributed to Elias Hazrati said the claims were "completely false" and that Pezeshkian was fully focused on handling national affairs as usual.
The dispute was also framed by Iran International as tied to "the way the war was managed and its destructive consequences on the people's livelihoods and the country's economy," with an anonymous official telling the outlet that this was the primary source of differences between Pezeshkian and the IRGC head.
In response to the same reporting, WANA News Agency said a well-informed source within the Iranian government dismissed the resignation rumors, stating that "President Masoud Pezeshkian has not resigned and continues to carry out his official duties as usual."
What happens next
The competing claims leave the reported resignation’s status unresolved, with Iran International saying it was not yet clear whether Mojtaba Khamenei would accept Pezeshkian’s resignation and describing the contents of the letter as pointing to a deep and unprecedented rift at the highest levels of power.
“"Iran International is a factory for producing lies about Pezeshkian and others."”
The denial campaign, however, tied the rumors to attempts to undermine Iran’s cohesion, with Tasnim News Agency quoting an informed government source saying, "Iran International is a factory for producing lies about Pezeshkian and others."
The same reporting also placed the dispute against a backdrop of ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran on an agreement to end the war, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying, "The talks and exchange of messages are continuing. Everything being said now is speculation and should not be given importance."
As the Iranian government rejected the resignation narrative, the Anadolu Ajansı report said Tabatabaei dismissed the reports as false, calling them a continuation of media games by certain foreign outlets while insisting that Pezeshkian would not back down from serving the Iranian people.