Nuclear Policy Sparks Escalating Power Struggles Within Iran’s Ruling Factions

Growing disputes over the IAEA, NPT withdrawal, and internal rivalries expose the regime’s deepening crisis

By Jazeh Miller

The debate over nuclear policy and Iran’s relationship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has become one of the central battlegrounds among regime officials and factions in recent months.

This dispute is not limited to technical or legal issues surrounding nuclear energy. At its core, it reflects deeper political and ideological contradictions that have fractured the regime’s ruling apparatus.

The latest round of turmoil was triggered by a letter signed by 71 parliamentarians to the presidium, coupled with threats to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and proposals to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). These developments underline a widening internal crisis that is shaking the regime at its foundations.

Parliament Divided Over Nuclear Agreements

The publication of the lawmakers’ letter represents a new phase in the dispute over nuclear negotiations and commitments.

In an interview with the IRGC News Agency, Hamed Yazdian stated that the letter was meant to ensure “awareness and monitoring of the agreements that the Foreign Minister has made in Cairo,” while insisting that concerns centered on “the security of scientists and nuclear centers” and on “Iran’s property rights in the nuclear field.”

These statements highlight the factional rift within parliament, which has increasingly turned nuclear policy into a platform for political maneuvering.

Street Rallies as Tools of Internal Pressure

The rift has not been confined to parliament. Regime-organized rallies led by the Basij and regime-affiliated student groups outside the Supreme National Security Council further demonstrate the regime’s growing instability.

Protesters at one such rally chanted: “The transfer of the country’s nuclear information and documents to enemies through the Agency should not take place” (Khabar Fori, September 11, 2025).

These orchestrated demonstrations, carried out by institutions aligned with different power centers, serve as instruments for rival factions to pressure and discredit one another.

Threats of Impeachment and NPT Withdrawal

Following Araghchi’s remarks on state television acknowledging agreements with the IAEA, a wave of backlash erupted inside parliament. Kamran Ghazanfari issued a sharp warning, declaring:

“Either you publicly deny all of Grossi’s statements and provide the text of the agreement to the parliamentarians, or prepare yourself for impeachment” (Asr-e Iran, September 12, 2025).

Similarly, Jafar Ghaderi escalated the rhetoric by warning that “withdrawing from the NPT will be only one of Iran’s responses if the trigger mechanism is finalized” (Didban Iran, September 12, 2025).

Such threats demonstrate that withdrawal from the NPT is being brandished primarily as a political weapon for domestic infighting, rather than as part of a consistent foreign policy strategy.

Contradictions Among Officials

The inconsistent and contradictory positions voiced by parliamentarians reveal the regime’s structural crisis.

For example, Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani of the National Security Commission declared that “Grossi and the IAEA inspectors do not have the right to enter Iran. War damages must be paid, then the inspectors can enter.

If the Europeans continue to insist on activating the snapback, we will pursue and approve the plan to withdraw from the NPT” (Didban-e Iran, September 12, 2025).

By contrast, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the same commission, took a more cautious line, emphasizing that the final decision on the NPT would be made by the “sovereignty group” and that parliament was merely a subordinate body (Quds, September 13, 2025).

These opposing stances not only highlight confusion within the regime but also reveal the competition for influence among different power factions.

Media Attacks Reflect Factional Hostilities

The dispute has even spilled into regime-controlled media. Kayhan, the mouthpiece of the Supreme Leader’s faction, attacked its rivals with open sarcasm:

“Now, the time has come for a paradigm shift, not for the Islamic Republic, but for the Western-oriented movement; a movement that must either transform or step aside from the scene of analysis and decision-making” (Kayhan, September 13, 2025).

A Regime in Crisis

What is unfolding today through protest letters, orchestrated rallies, impeachment threats, and talk of NPT withdrawal does not reflect a unified strategy. Instead, it exposes the deepening disunity and crisis within the entire regime.

These divisions, driven by the struggle for power and influence rather than coherent policy, are likely to escalate further, with unpredictable consequences for the regime’s stability.