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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responds during a televised broadcast interview in a photo released by the Iranian Presidential Office on August 29 last year (local time). / Photo via EPA, Yonhap News

Rumors regarding the potential resignation of President Masoud Pezeshkian have erupted in Iran, triggering intense speculation over deepening fractures within the regime's core leadership. Following reports from an anti-government media outlet claiming that President Pezeshkian had tendered his resignation, the Iranian government and state-aligned media apparatus swiftly moved to dismantle the claims.

Iran International, an exiled dissident media outlet, reported on May 31 (local time) that President Pezeshkian had submitted an official letter of resignation to the Office of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Citing inside sources, the outlet reported that Pezeshkian stated in his letter, "The presidency and the cabinet have been effectively sidelined from major, critical national decision-making processes." The President reportedly added that this systemic sidelining had created a governance vacuum, which hardline factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have rapidly exploited to seize control.

Pezeshkian reportedly emphasized, "Under these constraints, it is impossible to run the government and fulfill my legal mandates, which is why I am requesting immediate relief from my duties."

Iran International analyzed that while it remains unclear whether the Supreme Leader will accept the resignation, the content of the letter exposes an unprecedentedly profound rift at the apex of the Islamic Republic's power structure.

The Iranian government immediately refuted the report on the same day, castigating it as a malicious disinformation campaign orchestrated by "disreputable, foreign-based broadcast networks."

Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, Deputy Head of Communications for the Iranian Presidential Office, dismissed the report on social media, labeling it as "a mere continuation of absurd psychological operations by hostile media."

He stressed, "President Pezeshkian will never cease his service to the nation," and reaffirmed that "Iran will not back down from its path of solidarity and resistance."

Tabatabaei further retaliated, noting, "They have presented their wishful thinking as reality. This delusion of fracturing the unity of the Iranian people is an illusion they will carry with them to the grave."

The Tasnim News Agency, which is closely affiliated with the IRGC, also cited governmental sources to flatly deny allegations that the President was preparing an imminent departure from office.

The resignation rumors surface amidst months of simmering friction between the reformist-leaning administration and the country's dominant military and security establishments.

Prior to this development, Iran International had reported that the IRGC was progressively stripping President Pezeshkian of his executive authority and engineering a de facto takeover of vital sectors of state administration.

Sources familiar with the matter indicate that these power struggles have plunged the administration into a political and bureaucratic paralysis, stalling diplomatic negotiations on the international stage and freezing planned cabinet restructurings.

                                                                                                             Kim Hyun-min