Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei has ordered government officials to stop publicly highlighting economic weaknesses as fuel shortages, long petrol queues, and deepening divisions within Tehran’s leadership become increasingly visible.
By Imran Malik | World Affairs Desk | MediaBites.com.pk
Iran’s supreme leader has told his own government to stop talking about Iran’s problems publicly, a message that reveals as much about the depth of those problems as any admission could.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei instructed government officials to stop publicising the country’s weaknesses and instead highlight its “power and strength,” in an intervention published by state media shortly before President Masoud Pezeshkian was due to appear on television to address the nation.
“Weakness, defects, and deficiencies do not require narration and highlighting; rather, they require planning and action to resolve and solve the problem,” state television quoted him as saying.
The message arrived against a backdrop of deepening economic hardship. Long queues have formed at petrol stations in Tehran amid concerns over fuel supplies and possible price increases. Pezeshkian has himself publicly referred to “difficulties and hardships” and acknowledged the pressure on domestic fuel production capacity.
The contradictions within Iran’s leadership are becoming harder to conceal. Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, leading negotiations with Washington, was recently accused by an ultraconservative newspaper editor of taking too soft a position. Pezeshkian has defended the June framework agreement with Washington while playing a limited role in security matters, with the IRGC exercising significant influence over military affairs.
Most significantly, Khamenei has not been seen or heard publicly since taking power in March, prompting ongoing speculation about his health. US President Trump said this week he believed Khamenei was “very seriously wounded but alive.” Pezeshkian has denied offering to resign.
An order to project strength while acknowledging inflation and unemployment must be resolved is the clearest signal yet that Iran’s leadership is under pressures it cannot fully manage simultaneously.
