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Trump reportedly warned that if diplomacy collapses, the United States could move against Iran’s critical energy and transportation networks—an unmistakable sign that this White House is prepared to escalate pressure if needed.
While talks remain shaky, new reports suggest an even bigger problem may be unfolding inside Iran itself: the people negotiating may no longer be the people in charge.
Iran International reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime’s feared military power center, has blocked appointments made by President Masoud Pezeshkian while also increasing protection around Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The report paints a picture of an elected government being pushed aside while military hardliners tighten their hold over the country’s core institutions.
“It was always a matter of when, not if, the IRGC was going to step forward even more than it has in the last three decades,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News.
That assessment suggests what many observers have warned for years: Iran’s civilian leadership may be little more than window dressing while the Revolutionary Guard pulls the real strings.
Sources cited in the report described Pezeshkian as trapped in a “complete political deadlock,” unable to move key decisions forward as tensions with military leadership intensify behind closed doors.
If true, the implications are enormous.
A stronger IRGC presence likely means a more confrontational Iran—one less interested in compromise with Washington and more willing to flex military power throughout the Middle East.
That would place Trump in a difficult but familiar position: negotiating with a hostile regime while confronting the reality that its most extreme elements may now hold the reins.
Questions are also mounting over whether Iran will even send representatives to the next round of talks. If the country’s civilian leadership has been sidelined, any diplomatic commitments could be meaningless from the start.
Still, experts caution against viewing the latest developments as a sudden overthrow.
“But it’s a mistake to assume this is some sort of coup,” Ben Taleblu said. “This has been the process in Iran for years now, as the regime has chosen conflict over cooperation and emboldened its security forces at every juncture.”
In other words, this may not be a dramatic power grab—it may simply be the next step in a long-running transformation of Iran into an openly military-driven state.
Behind the scenes, signs of that shift continue to emerge.
Pezeshkian’s effort to appoint a new intelligence minister reportedly collapsed after opposition from IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi. According to Iran International, several proposed candidates—including former Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan—were rejected outright.
Vahidi reportedly insisted that wartime conditions require the Revolutionary Guard to maintain control over all sensitive positions.
That stance has alarmed analysts watching the region.
“By any standard, Vahidi is considered a radical even within the regime’s hardline elite, and his rise is a warning that Tehran’s war machine now calls the shots,” Lisa Daftari, a foreign policy analyst and journalist, told Fox News Digital.
For President Trump, the message is unmistakable.
The ceasefire remains fragile. Negotiations are uncertain. Iran’s internal power struggle is intensifying. And the officials sitting across the table may not be the ones truly making decisions.
With only days left on Trump’s deadline, Tehran now faces a choice: bring forward a real proposal—or risk finding out just how serious this White House is.
