{"id":599589,"date":"2026-08-29T11:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/599589\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T11:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T11:18:11","slug":"trump-promised-regime-change-the-hard-line-core-that-has-taken-control-of-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/599589\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump promised \u2018regime change\u2019: the hard-line core that has taken control of Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> ordered the war against Iran<\/a> six months ago, promising it would be short and decisive. But now, with the country under tightening sanctions, the Iranian leadership that was killed has been replaced by a hard-line core of generals and clerics with deep roots in the theocratic system. They repeatedly say they are prepared for a prolonged confrontation with the United States, while also showing they are willing to do whatever it takes to prevent any uprising at home.<\/p>\n

All of this is far removed from Trump\u2019s hopes at the outset of the campaign that the Islamic Republic would collapse, and from his later claims that \u201cregime change\u201d had brought more moderate and compromise-minded figures to the forefront.<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d2'\u05ea\u05d1\u05d0<\/a>\"\u05de\u05d5\u05d2'\u05ea\u05d1\u05d0<\/p>\n

The younger Khamenei; out of public view and surrounding himself with hard-line allies <\/p>\n

(Photo: Rouhollah Vahdati\/ISNA\/WANA (West Asia News Agency)\/AFP, illustration: Yaniv Shahar)<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s new leaders show little confidence that they can reach any agreement with Trump, after Iran was attacked twice while talks with the United States were underway. They also believe they could be attacked again once the Americans replenish their interceptor missile stocks.<\/p>\n

Iranian officials have even threatened to escalate the war, while the continuing U.S. blockade and Trump\u2019s plans to impose new sanctions threaten to choke an Iranian economy that is already deteriorating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Trump wants to take action, we will retaliate in an earthquake-like manner,\u201d Mohsen Rezaei, a former adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>, said late last week. Rezaei was appointed earlier this month as secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, he wrote that \u201cif the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported\u201d from the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

In a statement carried by Iranian state media Friday morning, the government vowed to stand firm against U.S. sanctions and what it called U.S.-Israeli \u201cconspiracies.\u201d It said diplomacy and defense were \u201ccomplementary, coordinated and inseparable\u201d tools for protecting the country\u2019s national interests, security and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

The government said it would pursue both tracks simultaneously while focusing on curbing inflation, creating jobs, supporting domestic production and gradually reducing dependence on the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n

Rezaei\u2019s appointment was part of a series of decrees recently signed by the supreme leader, who has not appeared in public since his father was killed. The decrees formally established Iran\u2019s new senior leadership, including its top military posts, after their predecessors were killed at the start of the war.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most significant appointment was that of the commander of the Basij, the volunteer force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard that maintains a feared presence in the streets and played a central role in suppressing the wave of protests that swept the country in January, during which tens of thousands were killed.<\/p>\n

The post went to Hossein Taeb, a conservative cleric and former head of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s intelligence organization. Taeb led one of the first major crackdowns on protests in 2009, before being removed in June 2022 after the exposure of an Iranian plot to attack Israeli targets in Turkey.<\/p>\n

His appointment is seen as a sign that the leadership is determined to prevent renewed unrest amid growing dissatisfaction over the state of the economy.<\/p>\n

\"Rezaei;<\/a>\"Rezaei;<\/p>\n

Rezaei; a Khamenei ally appointed to one of Iran\u2019s most important posts <\/p>\n

(Photo: AP)<\/p>\n

Khamenei, 56, has not appeared in public, in video or in audio recordings since his father, who served as Iran\u2019s supreme leader for about 37 years, was killed in Israeli strikes. Mojtaba Khamenei is believed to have been wounded, and his absence from public view may reflect either the intense security surrounding him, given that he is likely an Israeli target, or the severity of his injuries.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, he has surrounded himself with hard-line allies. In appointments announced Aug. 11 and 12, Khamenei elevated longtime associates with whom he had worked in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a clique of older senior officers who’ve served together over the last decades,\u201d Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies\u2019 Middle East office in Bahrain, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Rezaei, 71, led the Revolutionary Guard through its formative years, throughout the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and until 1997. Since 2009, he has run for president several times as a hard-line candidate.<\/p>\n

Ahmad Vahidi, 68, was appointed commander of the Revolutionary Guard after serving as acting commander since his predecessor was killed alongside the elder Khamenei.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Gen. Ali Ozmaei was also appointed commander of the Revolutionary Guard navy and Ali Abdollahi was named chief of staff.<\/p>\n

Bruchmann, who noted that Rezaei had been Vahidi\u2019s commander for many years, said the appointments appear designed above all to ensure unity. \u201cIt looks like internal cohesion, as in hard core people are being pulled into the inner circle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A senior oil analyst at Kpler, a company that provides data to international markets, said the appointments of Vahidi and Rezaei indicate \u201cgreater influence for officials associated with a tougher stance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the analyst said escalation was not inevitable, and Iran could struggle to \u201cescalate enough to restore deterrence without triggering retaliation that leaves it worse off.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Masoud Pezeshkian remains one of the most prominent voices calling for a negotiated solution. His allies argue that Iran risks pushing too far by continuing the war as its economy collapses.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a>\"<\/p>\n

Pezeshkian with the memorandum of understanding signed in June <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is better to end the war today, when we are powerful and respected and the whole world acknowledges our victory,\u201d Pezeshkian said last week.<\/p>\n

He also defended a memorandum of understanding signed in June against criticism from hard-liners who argued that Iran had conceded too much.<\/p>\n

Unlike ultra-hard-liners who reject any possibility of talks, Rezaei has left the door open to an agreement if the United States changes its position.<\/p>\n

On Monday, he told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, who is serving as a mediator, that the United States must \u201cchange its behavior and take practical steps to implement the terms\u201d of a ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n

Ahmad Zeidabadi, a political analyst based in Tehran, wrote in a newspaper aligned with Pezeshkian that there are \u201cserious differences over the future path of the country.\u201d Hard-liners oppose normalization with the United States, he wrote, because \u201ctheir survival depends on the existence of confrontation and hostility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite hopes in the United States and Israel, there have so far been no signs of new protests, even as it becomes increasingly difficult for Iranians to afford basic goods.<\/p>\n

Taeb\u2019s appointment as Basij commander is a sign that the leadership wants to head off any possible uprising \u201cbefore it even manifests,\u201d Bruchmann told the AP. \u201cPutting someone from an intelligence background in charge of the people that would do the crackdown makes sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Taeb, a 63-year-old cleric, headed the Basij when the force played a central role in suppressing the mass protests that erupted over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad\u2019s reelection in 2009, when dozens were killed.<\/p>\n

He developed a reputation for ruthlessness and was soon afterward appointed head of the Revolutionary Guard\u2019s intelligence apparatus. He led the organization for nearly 13 years until he was removed in 2022, reportedly as part of an internal shake-up following a series of Israeli intelligence successes.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d7\u05d5\u05e1\u05d9\u05d9\u05df<\/a>\"\u05d7\u05d5\u05e1\u05d9\u05d9\u05df<\/p>\n

Taeb; brought back to restore order in the streets <\/p>\n

(Photo: AFP)<\/p>\n

The Basij operates a nationwide network of volunteers who maintain a presence in streets, government offices and cultural institutions, with the aim of ensuring loyalty and ideological conformity to Iran\u2019s theocratic system.<\/p>\n

In the decree appointing Taeb, Khamenei ordered him to deepen the Basij\u2019s presence in Iranian social life, use new technologies and \u201cexpand Basij activity worldwide against Zionist-American arrogance,\u201d suggesting the organization could begin forging closer ties with Iranian proxies abroad.<\/p>\n

The Basij has increased its presence during the war, while hard-liners have held nightly rallies in Tehran and other cities to mobilize support and deter anyone who might voice opposition.<\/p>\n

It is not clear exactly how Taeb intends to strengthen the force, but in a recent speech he hinted that he plans to tighten control over society further. He warned that U.S. economic pressure is intended to create divisions inside Iran. \u201cIf the mosque becomes the center of the neighborhood, the nation will protect its unity, which will be a greater deterrent than any missile.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the war against Iran six months ago, promising it would be short and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":599590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-599589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}