Iranian President accuses guards commanders of steering country toward huge catastrophe

A fierce power struggle has erupted at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic, with President Masoud Pezeshkian directly accusing senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of unilateral actions that have destroyed ceasefire prospects and pushed Iran toward economic and military collapse.

According to two sources close to the presidential office, an exceptionally tense exchange took place on Saturday, April 4, between Pezeshkian and Hossein Taeb, a powerful figure close to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Those present described the conversation as unusually difficult and highly charged.

During the meeting, Pezeshkian singled out IRGC chief commander Ahmad Vahidi and Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters – the country’s armed forces unified command – accusing them of acting unilaterally and driving escalation through attacks on regional countries, particularly against their infrastructure.

The president said those policies had eliminated any remaining chance for a ceasefire and were steering the Islamic Republic directly toward “a huge catastrophe.”

Citing what he described as precise assessments, Pezeshkian further warned that Iran’s economy would be unable to withstand a prolonged conflict much longer and that full economic collapse was inevitable under current conditions.

The confrontation underscores mounting evidence of a broader power shift inside the Islamic Republic, with military and intelligence networks increasingly displacing both the elected government and the traditional clerical order.