Regime Officials' Talk of a "Coup Against Mojtaba Khamenei" Reveals Leadership Crisis at Core of Iran's Ruling System

Mehdi Oghbai, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), stated that the unprecedented remarks by regime parliamentarian Kamran Ghazanfari, claiming that "a coup is underway against Mojtaba Khamenei," constitute a clear admission that the crisis inside the ruling establishment has reached the very center of power.

Oghbai said: "When a member of the regime's own parliament publicly speaks of a coup against the new Supreme Leader, it demonstrates that the crisis is no longer a dispute between competing factions. It has become a crisis of leadership that exposes the regime's growing fragility."

He noted that the increasingly public confrontation among the Assembly of Experts, Parliament, and the religious establishment demonstrates that the clerical regime is experiencing one of the deepest internal fractures since its establishment, while Mojtaba Khamenei has failed to consolidate authority over the competing centers of power.

Oghbai stressed that calls by hardliners to keep supporters in the streets and the postponement of parliamentary sessions reflect fear rather than confidence.

"The regime fears not only its internal rivals but, above all, the Iranian people, who are waiting for the right moment to transform these internal divisions into an opportunity for democratic change."

He added that authoritarian systems begin to unravel when disputes over policy evolve into open struggles over legitimacy and leadership, precisely what is unfolding in Iran today.

According to Oghbai, economic collapse, growing public protests, continued executions, and the expanding activities of Resistance Units have all intensified the regime's internal conflicts.

He concluded: "What some regime officials describe as a coup against Mojtaba Khamenei is, in reality, evidence of a profound structural crisis affecting the entire system of Velayat-e Faqih. A regime divided within its highest institutions cannot withstand the growing determination of the Iranian people and their organized resistance to establish a democratic republic based on freedom and the separation of religion and state."