Squaring the Circle: Ayatollah Khamenei Demands Cooperation Between Intelligence Agencies

The existence of parallel institutions with overlapping jurisdictions is an inherent feature – not a flaw – of Iran’s bureaucratic architecture. This structural design serves as a mechanism for power diffusion, preventing a single governmental entity from monopolizing authority and, in theory, safeguarding the regime against the threat of a coup. However, the resulting redundancy, institutional rivalries, and even deliberate acts of mutual obstruction undermine state capacity and governance effectiveness. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s recent call for enhanced cooperation and coordination between the Ministry of Intelligence and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization thus represents an attempt to square the circle. In contrast, President Masoud Pezeshkian’s commitment to addressing the root causes of public dissatisfaction with the government appears to be a more pragmatic and potentially effective approach to enhancing state legitimacy and stability. 

• February 22: According to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s official website, in a meeting with Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib and senior officials from the Ministry of Intelligence, Khamenei underscored “the imperative of enhanced cooperation and coordination among Iran’s various intelligence agencies.” 
• February 22: Tasnim News, a mouthpiece of former IRGC Chief Commander Mohsen Rezaei, citing an unnamed “security expert,” stated: 
  • “Iran’s intelligence agencies have never engaged in partisan politics and shall never do so. The revolutionary nature of these agencies is one of the primary factors behind their success in countering sophisticated, professional, and well-funded adversarial agencies … Enhanced coordination is instrumental in neutralizing enemy conspiracies … The existence of multiple intelligence agencies is not unique to Iran; many other states, including the United States, operate multiple intelligence entities … Iran’s intelligence agencies have never regarded one another as rivals. Rather, in major operations, a division of labor among them generates added value. This synergy has yielded significant intelligence and security achievements.” 
• February 22: Nezam al-Din Mousavi, a former parliamentarian and editor of the IRGC-affiliated newspaper Javan, told centrist Mehr News: 
  • “It is due to the capabilities of our intelligence agencies that terrorist organizations have never managed to establish a significant foothold within our country … Among global terrorist networks, there exist Iranian terrorist organizations as well, supported by the West and the United States. One such example is the Monafeqin,” a reference to the Mujahedeen-e Khalq organization, “but due to the Intelligence Ministry’s intelligence superiority, they are unable to operate effectively within Iran.” 
• February 23: According to hard-line Kayhan, Pezeshkian addressed the “Commemoration of the Martyrs of the Intelligence Community and the 40th Anniversary of Establishment of the Intelligence Ministry” conference, saying: 
  • “The enemy seeks to foment discord and social unrest by exploiting divisions among ethnic groups, religious sects, genders, and socioeconomic classes, including workers, retirees, and other societal groups. Consequently, beyond the efforts of the intelligence and security apparatus, we as officials bear the responsibility of addressing the root causes of public grievances, which could otherwise be leveraged by the enemy.” 

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