The latest

Iranian newspapers aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have published unusually detailed accounts of a dispute over negotiations, the Supreme National Security Council’s authority and interpretations of Khamenei’s position. The reports place former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, lawmakers, an IRGC representative and conservative media figures inside the public confrontation, while stopping short of describing a leadership crisis or confirmed institutional split.

Details

• Jalili account: Javan said IRGC-affiliated political offices quoted Jalili as saying Khamenei’s reservations concerned parts of the agreement, not negotiations themselves. It reported that Jalili said council members backed the deal on “national interest and professional judgment,” rejecting allegations that they defied the Supreme Leader’s wishes.
• Competing version: According to Javan, a media channel linked to conservative lawmaker Amirhossein Sabeti accused the IRGC political office of falsely attributing the remarks to Jalili. He did not immediately issue a direct public denial, leaving competing versions circulating within conservative circles.
• Representative intervenes: Javan reported that Abdollah Haji Sadeghi, Khamenei’s representative to the IRGC, defended the account attributed to Jalili and urged him to address the public directly. Haji Sadeghi also said attacking the negotiating team contradicted loyalty to the Supreme Leader and rejected claims that negotiations were imposed on him.
• Classified material: Javan also reported that Jalili criticized conservative lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian for discussing classified documents and sensitive negotiations on television. The criticism broadened the dispute beyond diplomatic policy to the public handling of confidential state information.
• Kayhan position: Kayhan argued that Iran’s main security institutions operate under policies set by Khamenei and rejected portraying recent council changes as one faction’s victory. It also published President Masoud Pezeshkian’s response reaffirming his government’s commitment to implementing the Supreme Leader’s guidance.
• Attributed message: Kayhan highlighted a message attributed to Khamenei saying he had reservations “in principle” about the memorandum of understanding, but approved the process after assurances from Pezeshkian and council members that Iran’s rights and the “Axis of Resistance” would be protected. The supplied reporting provides no independent authentication of the message or details of the memorandum.
• Negotiating rationale: Javan portrayed negotiations as a strategic instrument for reducing conflict costs and managing timing, rather than abandoning Iran’s broader objectives. It criticized hardline commentators who cast diplomacy as retreat from revolutionary principles, maintaining that the process had leadership approval and remained within the Islamic Republic’s institutional framework.

What’s next

The next concrete indicators will be a direct statement from Jalili about the disputed remarks or an official Supreme National Security Council clarification of the agreement and participants’ authority. Subsequent statements from Haji Sadeghi and editorials in Javan and Kayhan will show whether the dispute remains media-based.