Britain’s The Times has revealed details of a meeting between Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian, amid deep divisions within Iran’s political establishment over a potential new ceasefire agreement with the United States.
According to the newspaper, internal disagreements prevented Tehran from reaching a new ceasefire deal with Washington, despite Pezeshkian holding a rare seven-hour meeting with Khamenei.
The report said Pezeshkian had threatened to resign unless he was allowed to meet the Supreme Leader, as he sought Khamenei’s support and clarity over the future of Iran’s confrontation with Washington.
A First Meeting Inside a Tinted Car
The Times reported that the first encounter between Pezeshkian and Khamenei took place inside a vehicle with tinted windows.
The Iranian president was allegedly instructed to keep the conversation brief and “not touch the man sitting beside him”.
After the meeting ended, Pezeshkian reportedly doubted whether the person beside him had actually been the Supreme Leader and demanded a second meeting.
That second meeting lasted seven hours.
Pezeshkian later said he had discussed “all of the country’s issues” during the meeting, including “people’s livelihoods, the state of the market, employment, housing, sanctions, how we remain steadfast, supporting the people, unity and cohesion”.
Despite the lengthy discussions, the newspaper said the meeting failed to resolve the internal disagreements, which later became public.
Iranian Negotiators Unable to Approve New Deal
The Times reported that Iranian negotiators told mediators they were unable to approve a new agreement because “hardliners” opposed making concessions.
According to the newspaper, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is demanding that Iran retain its nuclear programme, recover billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and obtain the right to impose transit fees through the Strait of Hormuz.
The report said US President Donald Trump had based his expectations of an agreement on information provided by Gulf mediators and his own envoys.
Iranian negotiators had reportedly agreed to the proposed deal and indicated that only one “technical issue” remained to be discussed with Tehran.
Statements announcing the agreement had already been drafted, according to the report, but the Iranian negotiators later withdrew their approval after consulting officials in Tehran.
Divisions Over Whether to Reach an Agreement
Hassan Ahmadian, professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Tehran, told The Times that Iranian “hardliners” believe allowing the US president to escape a crisis of his own making would be a mistake.
“Allowing the US president to get out of the predicament he created for himself is a mistake. The war strengthened Iran’s position, so why should we save him? That would weaken the system and lead to another attack,” he said.
Another faction, however, believes Iran’s leverage will not last indefinitely and that reaching an agreement now would be preferable to waiting for another war that could leave Tehran in a weaker position.
Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group said the real centre of power lies within a shrinking circle of current and former Revolutionary Guard commanders linked to Mojtaba Khamenei through decades of personal and institutional ties.
“There may still be many voices in the room inside Iran, but the number of hands holding the steering wheel is smaller than ever,” Vaez said.
