Senior Iranian officials have closed ranks to reject US President Donald Trump's assertions that the country's leadership is fractured and dysfunctional, with multiple figures insisting the Islamic Republic speaks with a single voice. President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref all issued statements rebutting Trump's claims. "In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates," read a joint message posted on X by Pezeshkian and Ghalibaf. "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." Aref added in English: "Iran is not a land of rifts, but a stronghold of unity. We are one soul, one nation."
Trump has repeatedly claimed over the past week that Iran is gripped by "crazy" infighting between moderates and hardliners, and that Iranians have "no idea who their leader is." The assertions follow the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on 28 February, after which his son Mojtaba Khamenei assumed the role. US officials have said the new supreme leader was wounded and "disfigured" in the attack, and The New York Times reported, citing unidentified Iranian officials, that he remains gravely wounded but "mentally sharp." Mojtaba Khamenei has not made a public appearance since taking power. Some independent analysts note that, while Iran has shown remarkable institutional cohesion given the scale of assassinations of its senior commanders, the new supreme leader has not yet had time to consolidate authority in the way his father did over many years.
Experts are divided on the substance of Trump's claims. Some accuse his administration of waging deliberate psychological, or "cognitive", warfare — seeking to paralyse Iranian decision-making by amplifying internal divisions. Hassan Ahmadian, an associate professor of west Asian studies at the University of Tehran, argued that Iran's political system is deeply institutionalised, with parallel institutions providing resilience against shocks. He pointed to the 13-member Supreme National Security Council — which brings together judicial, military, intelligence and political figures — as the body forging a unified strategy centred on leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Ansari, a professor of modern history at St Andrews, took a more cautious view, describing Iran as "a country in transition" whose new leadership has yet to establish firm authority.
The dispute over unity is unfolding against a dangerous diplomatic and military backdrop. Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which a significant share of the world's oil passes — while the US has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, sending oil prices higher. Trump on Thursday threatened to "shoot and kill" Iranians laying mines in the strait, and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared that Israel was prepared to resume the war against Iran pending American approval. Araghchi dismissed reports of a civil-military rift, saying the battlefield and diplomacy were "fully coordinated fronts in the same war." Iran has also blamed the breakdown in ceasefire talks — previously set to take place in Pakistan — on the US blockade rather than any internal disagreement.
Why this matters: the question of Iranian unity has direct consequences for the prospects of a negotiated settlement. If Trump's framing of a divided leadership is accurate, it may reflect genuine uncertainty about who holds authority over the terms of any deal. If, as Iranian officials and some analysts insist, it is a calculated attempt to sow discord, it risks hardening positions on both sides. With Israel poised to re-enter the conflict and a fragile ceasefire under strain, the gap between Washington's narrative and Tehran's response leaves little room for diplomatic progress.