Iranian president Pezeshkian reportedly resigns, citing Revolutionary Guards takeover

Monday 01 June 2026 - 08:54

By: Dakir Madiha

Iranian president Pezeshkian reportedly resigns, citing Revolutionary Guards takeover

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly submitted a formal resignation letter to the office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, claiming he had been systematically excluded from key decision-making and that hardline factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had assumed control of government affairs. Iranian authorities swiftly denied the report, which was based on a single anonymous official source.

According to the reported letter, Pezeshkian wrote that the presidency and civilian government had been effectively sidelined from major decision-making processes, creating a vacuum that allowed the most hardline members of the Revolutionary Guards to take over national affairs. He stated that under those conditions, he could not continue to lead the administration or fulfill his legal responsibilities, and requested to resign immediately. The report emerged at a particularly sensitive moment, with the United States and Iran engaged in ongoing nuclear negotiations and Iran simultaneously managing an active military conflict. President Trump had previously described the Iranian leadership as deeply fractured, and the reported resignation, if confirmed, would appear to lend weight to that characterization.

Iranian state-affiliated media moved quickly to contain the story. The Tasnim news agency cited a source asserting that the president had not resigned and was continuing his duties normally. The Iranian government issued an official denial on Sunday, framing the report as disinformation. The denials came within hours of the original publication, underscoring the sensitivity of the claim and the speed with which Tehran sought to neutralize it.

The reported resignation fits within a pattern of tension that has persisted for months between Pezeshkian's reformist administration and radical conservative elements within the Iranian system. In early May, Pezeshkian had publicly pushed back against the American narrative of a divided Iranian leadership following a meeting with Khamenei, a meeting that was reported to be their first direct exchange since the new Supreme Leader assumed his position two months earlier. Earlier this year, reports indicated that mounting pressure from conservative opponents had already forced several members of Pezeshkian's inner circle to step down, suggesting the friction predated the current crisis by several months.

As of Sunday evening, no official confirmation had been provided by Iranian authorities, and the entire report rested on a single anonymous source. Whether the Supreme Leader's office would accept such a resignation, if genuine, remains unknown. A confirmed resignation would represent an unprecedented rupture at the apex of Iranian power, occurring simultaneously with active military operations and sensitive diplomatic negotiations with Washington.