Iran’s intelligence minister said on Saturday the Islamic Republic's enemies are seeking to target Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warning about attempts to incite another wave of unrest in the country.
Esmail Khatib described Khamenei as the “pillar and axis” of the Islamic Republic and said: “That is why the enemy tries to target the leadership… sometimes through assassination and sometimes through hostile attacks that are today perhaps even pursued from inside the country.”
He did not provide further details about alleged attempts to target Khamenei, though other senior officials have previously voiced similar concerns.
On November 11, Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of the Islamic Republic, said during a speech on the parliament floor that during the 12-day war he feared harm might come to Khamenei.
Iran’s cohesion and stability hinge on the Supreme Leader’s security, he told the lawmakers, warning that an attack on him during the June war could have provoked internal clashes posing a greater threat than any external enemy.
In June, US President Donald Trump, reacting to the Supreme Leader’s comments about winning the 12-day war, said the US knew where Khamenei was hiding during the war but did not want him killed “for now.”
Earlier this month, the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, in an analysis about continuing Iranian threats against Israel, wrote that the option of killing Khamenei was not pursued in the June battle but “remains possible.”
'Regime change policy shelved'
The Iranian intelligence minister said on Saturday that the country’s adversaries have moved from attempts to overthrow the Islamic Republic to efforts aimed at weakening it from within, including through efforts to target the leadership.
Khatib said during a visit to Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province that Israel and the United States had changed their strategy “from overthrow and disintegration to containment through pressure,” using cyberattacks, disinformation and attempts to fuel social divisions.
He said such efforts were meant to undermine public trust and sow discord.
“Anyone who knowingly or unknowingly walks in this path is serving the goals of the enemies,” he said.
The Asr-e Iran news outlet direct a sharp rebuke at Alireza Biniaz, the Kish Friday prayer leader in the form of a lengthy commentary. Friday prayer leaders are official positions appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office.
“What does a special beach for the Friday prayer leader and his friends even mean? Was wanting special treatment in other areas not enough – now a special beach too?” the outlet said.
“You go to university with special privileges, get hired with special privileges, use a privileged internet line, and then go to Kish to stay at a special beach?” Asr-e Iran wrote.
Biniaz's original letter was addressed to Mohammadjafar Kabiri, the head of the Kish Free Zone Organization. Earlier discussions with the economy minister, Biniaz wrote, had produced an understanding to build and operate a special beach for the Friday prayer institution.
He urged officials to expedite and finalize its allocation to allow access for “devout individuals, committed citizens, officials and special guests.”
Public spaces and equal access
Asr-e Iran rejected dividing society into categories of devotion. “Why insist on separating society into devout and non-devout?” it said. “It is the right of all Iranians to enjoy the island’s amenities, and the degree of anyone’s devotion is not for the Friday prayer leader of Kish – or anywhere else – to determine,” the website added.
The outlet asked President Massoud Pezeshkian to verify the letter’s authenticity and assess any role played by the economy ministry, arguing that inaction would reinforce perceptions of privileged access for clerics.
Earlier cases reflect a wider pattern
This is not the first time Friday prayer leaders and figures close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have sought special advantages for themselves, with their names appearing in economic corruption files and similar cases.
In March 2024, journalist Yashar Soltani published documents revealing financial misconduct by Kazem Sedighi, then the Tehran Friday prayer leader, involving the 4,200-square-meter property valued at roughly ten trillion rials ($8.85 million).
The property, which had been under the control of a seminary managed by Sedighi, was transferred for only 66 billion rials ($58.4 thousand).
After widespread criticism and a strong public reaction, Sedighi eventually wrote to Khamenei in August seeking “to be excused from leading Friday prayers in order to focus on academic, teaching and preaching work,” a request the Supreme Leader approved.
A Reuters report on Thursday quoted two regional sources as saying Iran asked Saudi Arabia to help persuade the United States to restart nuclear talks, a day after Trump said Iran wanted a deal and he would "probably" make it.
In Tehran, however, Iranian media coverage and official commentary depict a divided polity where routine hints at diplomacy collide with immovable red lines of ideology and strategy.
The result, as the moderate outlet Fararu put it, is a “total halt” and a “dangerous deadlock” in Tehran’s approach to Washington.
“The two sides have reached a deadlock that can escalate to the point of no return,” political analyst Ali Bigdeli warned. “I do not want to use the word war, but when diplomacy cannot go any further, war will be looming.”
The adviser
Fararu and other outlets framed their analyses around remarks aired by CNN from Kamal Kharrazi, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who heads the influential Council for Foreign Relations.
In the interview, Kharrazi laid out two conditions for any talks with the United States: they must be conducted “on equal footing and with mutual respect,” and they must follow an agreed agenda.
He then undercut Tehran’s long-proclaimed openness to diplomacy with two firm caveats: Iran will discuss only the levels of its uranium enrichment, not a halt; and it will “categorically” refuse to put its missile program on the table.
Earlier this week, nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told a Foreign Ministry gathering that the United States and its allies had triggered “a new round of dangerous escalation.”
At the same event, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi argued that despite Trump’s comments on Iran’s readiness for dialogue, “the West is not prepared for negotiations,” adding that Tehran is in no hurry to sit down.
The message
Media commentary intensified during the Washington visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The most debated claim was that President Massoud Pezeshkian had sent a message—via the Crown Prince—to Donald Trump.
Nour News, close to former national security chief Ali Shamkhani, denied this on Thursday, insisting Pezeshkian’s communication concerned only next year’s Hajj. But some critics noted the timing suggested otherwise.
Others argued that even if such a message had been sent, it would carry little weight, since Trump sees Khamenei as the only decision-maker who matters.
Khamenei’s position, they argued, is best read through the words of his foremost senior foreign policy adviser, Kharrazi.
The outlook
Whether Trump will entertain the idea of talks under Kharrazi’s terms remains uncertain. But the signs are not encouraging.
Kharrazi’s proposed framework mirrors what Tehran floated in late May and early June—and we know how that ended.
Even Trump’s cautious optimism during his joint appearance with the Crown Prince—saying he would “probably” forge a deal with Iran—lacked conviction.
It was a promise punctuated and punctured by a dealmakers’ shrug: “We will see.”
Pezeshkian said the pressure on water, land and infrastructure had left the government with “no option” but to act. “When we said we must move the capital, we did not even have enough budget. If we had, maybe it would have been done. The reality is that we no longer have a choice; it is an obligation,” he said in a speech in Qazvin.
He said Tehran now faces “catastrophe” as land in parts of the capital sinks by up to 30 centimeters a year and water supplies shrink. “When we say the land subsides 30 centimeters each day, this means disaster,” he said. He warned that mismanagement, construction in upstream areas and cuts to downstream water flows risk irreversible damage.
Pezeshkian said officials across government must work together or “a dark future” awaits. “Protecting the environment is not a joke,” he said. “Ignoring it means signing our own destruction.”
The president said the mismatch between water resources and demand had reached a breaking point. “We can bring water from the Persian Gulf, but it will be costly,” he said, arguing that Tehran’s population and construction load can no longer expand.
Makran: potential and limits
Iran announced in January that the government was studying plans to move the capital to the southern Makran coast, a remote region overlooking the Gulf of Oman. Officials said the shift could ease Tehran’s overcrowding, energy shortages and water stress.
The idea has surfaced repeatedly since the 1979 revolution but has stalled due to political resistance and soaring costs. Past administrations explored alternatives including Semnan, Qom and Isfahan but financial constraints halted progress.
Officials have said Makran’s coastline offers access to the Indian Ocean and a base for sea-linked economic projects. The area includes Chabahar, Iran’s only oceanic port and a gateway to Central Asia.
But critics say the region is underdeveloped, exposed to security risks and far from ready to host a national capital. Opponents argue the country cannot afford the tens of billions of dollars such a move would require at a time of economic strain, high inflation and renewed UN sanctions.
