Iran International
Recent regional setbacks have further weakened Iran’s hardliners at home, with increasing criticism from within the establishment holding them responsible for mismanagement and misdirection in the country’s foreign and domestic affairs.
Having lost Syria in a dramatic and unexpected turn of events, Iran’s hardliners find themselves with little to defend their position. They have shifted their focus to heavily campaigning for the implementation of a restrictive new hijab law, while attempting to deflect blame for the insurgents' victory onto their long-time ally Assad. Some hardliners argue that Assad lacked sufficient commitment to Tehran’s “axis of resistance,” yet they struggle to explain why the Revolutionary Guard did not make greater efforts to defend him.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei attempted to address the issue on December 11, claiming that the United States and Israel had blocked all land and air routes to Syria. However, this explanation was widely viewed as unconvincing, particularly given Tehran’s long-standing boasts of regional supremacy.
On Saturday, the country’s national security council decided to shelve the hijab law, bowing to public opposition as well as criticism from numerous current and former officials, along with commentators permitted to speak through tightly-controlled media channels.
Despite this, hardliner Foad Izadi sparked widespread backlash on social media and Iranian news websites by arguing that the insistence on hijab enforcement serves a political purpose for the Islamic government. He claimed that supporters of the political system expect religious laws to be taken seriously by officials, warning that failing to do so risks eroding the Islamic Republic’s base of loyal supporters.
"The Islamic Republic does not see its benefit in giving in, because it believes the locomotive of the train it is riding on consists of a hard core of supporters who are loyal precisely because of these [policies]. If the Islamic Republic compromises on a few principles, this core of loyalists will be the first group to step off the train,” Izadi said during a video discussion published online.
Ironically, Izadi, who has become a staunch ideologue for Iran's hardliners, was educated in the United States from an early age and holds a PhD from the University of Louisiana. This apparent contradiction was not lost on a commentator from the reformist Aftab News website, who criticized Izadi for advocating hardline policies after benefiting from an education abroad.
Meanwhile, the relatively moderate Rouydad24 published a scathing article on Sunday targeting Izadi and his peers, accusing them of exploiting the hijab issue to tighten their control over the government. Matin Ghafarian, writing for Rouydad24, argued that these ultra-hardliners are not solely focused on enforcing stricter hijab regulations but are also intent on imposing broader counterproductive policies.
The article warned that such policies would further alienate the public, destabilize the Islamic government, and make it increasingly reliant on hardliner support. Rouydad24 wrote, "These individuals embody their own words—they are not easily satisfied. After making the establishment dependent on themselves, they begin to conquer the system step by step."
The website went even further, accusing ultra-hardliners of using political issues, such as the hijab, as a pretext to expand their influence for financial gain. By pressuring the government to adopt more extreme policies, they have exacerbated economic sanctions and deepened Iran’s isolation. This, in turn, has allowed them to leverage their influence to gain control over key economic sectors under the guise of rescuing the economy, often benefiting from government subsidies in the process.
Rouydad24 concluded, "The demands of this small group will not end until they have fully taken over the country’s economy. This group effectively traps the government in a cycle of decline—creating crises and feeding off them. In reality, we are not dealing with a fanatical and hotheaded group, but rather a cunning mafia intent on seizing control of all the country's economic resources."
"I have been entrusted with the project of determining Iran's position in the global order," Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's supreme national security council from 2013 to 2023, said in an interview with Nour News.
The Iranian outlet cited him as adding that he is the official ultimately responsible for the country's nuclear diplomacy dossier and sanctions.
The assertions appeared aimed at reviving the relevance of a figure whose hardline stance on engagement with outside powers has been criticized by relative moderates as Iran's geopolitical influence wanes and economy suffers.
Shamkhani defended legislation he is widely believed to have crafted in December 2020 to boost Iranian uranium enrichment up to 20% which was blamed for harming chances for reviving a lapsed nuclear deal just as relative dove Joe Biden took office.
"The Strategic Action Plan is not a bad law; it was proposed in response to Trump's pressures, and our nuclear achievements are owed to this law," Shamkhani said.
His remarks come as Iran faces a dilemma over whether to double down on a muscular military policy in the region which has taken a severe pounding from Israel or to re-engage the West its disputed nuclear as Donald Trump's return looms.
The influential former military figure has been under intense scrutiny lately over his family's sprawling business interests.
Shamkhani's interview seems to have backfired as critics linked to the Reform camp and the government of former President Hassan Rouhani have again criticized him as a cause of Iran's woes who has been enriched by dodging sanctions which plague the livelihoods of ordinary Iranians.
His comments appear to be a deliberate doubling down on hawkish policies despite mounting domestic and international woes.
“Hardline and aggressive agents chosen by #Trump, if they learned from the past, will have no choice but to opt for rationality and respect in the face of Iranians' strong will to continue #Resistance,” Shamkhani said in a post on X last month.
Shamkhani, formerly a rear admiral in the IRGC, has in recent years become widely known for his and his sons' roles as emerging oil tycoons. They have been implicated in circumventing US sanctions and selling the Islamic Republic's oil through the use of ghost fleets. The allegation of oil dealings became a widely publicized affair in international media in 2024.
Shamkhani’s reputation as a corrupt insider extends beyond his alleged involvement in dubious oil dealings. After the collapse of a high-rise building in Abadan in 2022, which resulted in the loss of dozens of lives, accusations emerged linking Shamkhani and his associates to financial corruption and the exploitation of his influence as a rear admiral. While Shamkhani denied the corruption allegations, Iranian media remained skeptical, citing substantial evidence that cast doubt on his claims of innocence.
Yet another damning controversy surrounding Shamkhani was the execution of one of his former aides Alireza Akbari for espionage. That also did not affect his influence within Tehran’s power structures. The political system dominated by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also turned a blind eye to Shamkhani's financial link to an IRGC-backed drug lord.
In the interview, Shamkhani criticized former presidents and claimed he had never voted for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hassan Rouhani, or Ebrahim Raisi. However, critics accused him of complicity in nearly every major decision made in Iran over the past 45 years, including significant financial scandals, while attempting to shift blame onto others.
Mohammad Heydari, managing editor of the Rouydad 24 News website in Tehran, noted that Shamkhani was an integral part of the administrations led by the very presidents he claims not to have voted for. As such, he bears responsibility for their actions and decisions.
Former Reformist MP Mahmoud Sadeghi in a video posted on X accused Shamkhani of being responsible for opening fire at protesters in major demonstrations since 2018. "We never forget and never forgive that."
In another post on X, Iranian political analyst Rouhollah Rahimpour argued that since Shamkhani claims to oversee Iran's nuclear dossier, he should be held accountable for the failures of past nuclear negotiations and possibly those in the future.
Bahram Parsaei, a member of the parliament from Shiraz wrote that Shamkhani has played a major part in the failure of the Rouhani administration and in the inclusion of Iran in the FATF blacklist, which significantly restricts Iran’s international banking and trade.
Although Shamkhani may have chosen to take part in that interview was to overshadow the controversy about his oil empire linked to his family, the decision could signal renewed political ambitions.
Shamkhani has made it clear more than once that he wishes to rise to the post of the security chief again, although Khamenei has so far demurred. Former President Hassan Rouhani has said that Khamenei was against Shamkhani's appointment as security chief in his government.