Kanal13Internal rivalries between moderate and hardline camps within Iran’s political establishment are expected to grow sharper. However, these clashes may be less publicly visible after the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, according to an exclusive assessment by Beni Sabti of the Institute for National Security Studies. Sabti said that strains inside the ruling system have been particularly evident in the past several days. “Over the last two or three days the confrontations between different elements of the regime were quite serious,” he explained. “There were figures who opposed the choice of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new leader, but in the end the hardline camp managed to secure his appointment, which reflects their strong influence in the decision.”
In Sabti’s view, the rivalry between pragmatic and hardline forces has long been embedded in Iran’s political structure and is unlikely to disappear. He cited previous disputes between the country’s president and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, noting an episode in which the president publicly stated that Iran would not launch attacks against neighboring states even as operations were reportedly being conducted against targets in places such as Dubai. Sabti said the disagreements inside the leadership are expected to continue, but their expression may become more subdued now that a new supreme leader has been appointed. When the position was effectively vacant, rival factions had greater freedom to challenge each other in the open. With a successor now in place, he believes those conflicts will largely move behind the scenes. He also suggested that the temporary leadership council formed during the transition period will likely be disbanded, with its members returning to their previous posts within the political hierarchy.
On March 8, Iranian state media announced that Mojtaba Khamenei had assumed the position of supreme leader following the death of his father, 87-year-old Ali Khamenei. Earlier, it was reported that Mojtaba Khamenei’s accession could reshape the balance of influence within Iran’s ruling elite, potentially boosting the role of security and military institutions while reducing the leverage of other political groups. It should be noted that Ali Khamenei was killed in coordinated airstrikes by the United States and Israel on February 28 in his compound near capital Tehran. Iranian media later confirmed his death on 1 March 2026, reporting that the cleric had died amid the bombardment and that other relatives, including his wife and other family members, were also among the casualties.
