Iranian Leadership Projects Continuity and Unity

While President Donald J. Trump’s social media posts have depicted the Islamic Republic as a regime in total chaos since the February 28 death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian authorities have used their media mouthpieces, including their profiles on X, to project an image of continuity and unity.

• April 23: Reformist Entekhab News Agency dismissed a claim by Israeli Channel 12 that Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf had resigned from Iran’s team of negotiators.
• April 23: Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by Tabnak News Agency, which is affiliated with former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Chief Commander Mohsen Rezaei, explained how Qalibaf was chosen as the head of the negotiation team:
  • “The election of Qalibaf as speaker of parliament, given his background as a combatant during the Sacred Defense and his numerous successful responsibilities in various fields, was a smart and well-deserved choice. As a representative of the people and speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, he is considered a symbol of religious democracy. Qalibaf maintains effective relations with all branches of the system and is trusted by different political currents and components of the establishment. He also has a very good working relationship with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which can be effective in coordinating the country’s broader affairs. Alongside Araghchi and given both of their backgrounds during the Sacred Defense, this combination can perform very effectively and successfully in the arena of diplomacy and the overall management of the country.”
• March 23: President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, and Qalibaf used their X accounts to send a uniform response to President Donald J. Trump’s recent claims of leadership vacuum and struggle between moderates and radicals in Iranian politics since the February 28 killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
  • In near-identical messages, they wrote: “In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates; we are all ‘Iranian’ and ‘revolutionary,’ and with the iron unity of the nation and government, with complete obedience to the supreme leader of the revolution, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions. One God, one leader, one nation, and one path – that path being the path to victory for Iran, dearer than life.”
• March 23: An account on X purportedly representing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei posted:
  • “The enemy’s media operations, by targeting the minds and psyches of the people, intend to undermine national unity and security; may our negligence not allow this sinister intent to come to fruition.”

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