Strait of Hormuz Diplomacy Exposes Iran's Deepening Power Struggle
By Struan Stevenson As Iran’s economy buckles under runaway inflation, a collapsing currency, and mounting strikes by workers, pensioners, and teachers, the ruling establishment in Tehran has entered a dangerous new phase – open internal conflict. The slogans of “unity” and “resistance” endlessly repeated by regime officials now ring hollow. Beneath the surface, rival factions are battling over how to preserve a system that increasingly appears incapable of saving itself. The divisions have become impossible to conceal. Even regime-controlled newspapers now openly acknowledge fierce struggles inside the Majlis (parliament) and across the security and diplomatic apparatus. The latest confrontation erupted during the May 25 elections for the third session of Iran’s 12th parliament, where extremist factions mounted a determined effort to weaken Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Ghalibaf. Although Ghalibaf secured another term, the infighting revealed something far more significant than routine...