Iranian Hardliners Raise Alarm Over ‘Coup’ as Ceasefire With US Comes Under Pressure

Masoud Pezheskian, Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Ghalibaf are seen as Iran’s main faces to the West. All three have taken responsibility for negotiations with the United States, while the Revolutionary Guard has been pushed into the background.

According to CNN, developments during the seven-day funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have given momentum to a claim that has circulated for months among the Islamic Republic’s most radical groups. According to this theory, Iran’s wartime leaders, who negotiated and signed the agreement with Washington, are attempting to carry out a “soft coup” against the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary ideals.

While the new Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor of the late leader, has remained hidden and out of sight, crowds directed chants of “Death to compromise” at the Iranian president. Abbas Araghchi, who negotiated the ceasefire with the Trump administration and secured the lifting of some sanctions against the Islamic Republic, left the funeral after being attacked with stones by the crowd. Protesters called for his death, describing him as a “traitor and sellout.”

Hardline supporters, present in large numbers at the ceremony, believe Iranian officials surrendered when they signed the agreement instead of avenging Khamenei’s killing. In their view, the agreement runs counter to the orders of Mojtaba Khamenei, the “missing” Supreme Leader, in whose name officials continue to negotiate and govern.

Radical factions accuse Iran’s official leadership of seeking to strengthen its control by suspending parliament, disregarding its orders during negotiations and attempting to disperse nighttime street protests, which had become a strong power base for fundamentalists.

Days before Khamenei’s funeral, Mahmoud Nabavian, a radical lawmaker known for his blunt statements, raised a question on X: “A warning to the people of Iran: Is a coup being prepared?”

Several days later, he wrote: “In these moments of farewell to the martyred Imam (Khamenei), we raise the flag of revenge for his blood and remain steadfast against the coup.”

Aras Azizi, a US-based Iran expert and author of the book “What Iranians Want,” told CNN that hardliners’ discontent is also deepened by the fact that they have no access at all to the new supreme leader.

“Mojtaba’s continued absence means that they do not have access to him, and also that Ghalibaf and his allies actually hold power in the country… therefore, hardline extremists have accused Ghalibaf and Pezheskian of plotting a ‘coup’ against Mojtaba,” Azizi said.

“Us, the blade and your neck”

Before hostilities erupted, hardline representatives focused their anger on the leaders who signed the agreement with the United States.

During a ceremony, Mohammad Ali Bakshi, a security-linked “Manda” and a religious singer loyal to the Iranian regime, warned Pezheskian: “Mr. President, if the leader’s conditions are not met, then it will be us, your knife and your throat.” He added: “We will bring you hell.”

The public threat to kill the president was widely condemned, although it remains unclear whether Bakshi faced legal consequences. Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator with the United States and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, is also under close scrutiny. His extensive political experience enabled him to assume a leading role during the war. This made him the regime’s de facto leader, with broad acceptance.

In a filmed statement in early July, hardline lawmaker Kamran Ghazanfari said that “They are trying to increase the role of the Supreme National Security Council while reducing the role of the supreme leader and parliament,” referring to the fact that the council now decides the country’s most sensitive issues in wartime.

“This is the political coup they have planned and are implementing step by step.”

On Tuesday, Nabavian was dismissed from his position on Parliament’s National Security Committee, along with another lawmaker critical of the agreement. Nabavian strongly opposes the deal and has been one of the main voices warning of a “coup.”

Previously, Nabavian had been part of Iran’s negotiating team, but later turned against the talks. Last month, he attempted to undermine the agreement by releasing its text to the media before it was signed. According to him, Iran’s negotiating team was violating the supreme leader’s “red lines” in talks with the United States.

CNN was unable to reach Nabavian for comment. He and other figures share the views of Jebhe-ye Paydari (Resistance Front), whose hardline members are often described by observers as “ultra-revolutionaries.” They see themselves as guardians of the values of the 1979 revolution, which overthrew the pro-Western monarch and established an Islamic theocracy.

Khamenei’s funeral became a “golden opportunity” for the Islamic Republic’s most hardline elements to increase demands for revenge for their leader through a new war with Washington and to express opposition to any agreement with Trump.

Now, their wish appears to have been fulfilled. This week, a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States nearly collapsed after the Revolutionary Guard launched attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to establish control over this waterway. Washington then carried out retaliatory strikes, while Iranian hardliners repeated calls for the ceasefire to be cancelled.