Iran president's resignation threats prompt leadership claims by cleric
Muhammed Bakır Harazi says Mesud Pezeşkiyan has threatened to quit 28 times since June 2024
MediaBias Comparison Desk
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This article was written at the MediaBias News desk from the one-paragraph digests an aggregator publishes for each of the outlets listed below it, together with 2 of those outlets' own reports read in full. How we do it
What this story says
- Muhammed Bakır Harazi, a cleric linked to Iran’s Supreme Leader, says President Mesud Pezeşkiyan has threatened to resign 28 times since his June 2024 inauguration.
- Harazi claims Ali Hamaney sent Pezeşkiyan a message stating that a further resignation would be accepted, and that the president and his team have since stopped issuing threats.
- Harazi asserts that the Secretary General of the High National Security Council, Muhammed Bakır Zülkadr, will be replaced by Hamaney’s military adviser Muhsin Rızai, and that Foreign Minister Abbas Arakçi will be excluded from nuclear talks.
- No official response has been issued to Harazi’s claims, which have circulated widely in Iranian media and prompted calls for verification from commentators.
A cleric with ties to Iran’s Supreme Leader has claimed that President Mesud Pezeşkiyan threatened to resign 28 times in the first months of his term. Muhammed Bakır Harazi, who identifies himself as close to Ali Hamaney, said Hamaney sent a message to Pezeşkiyan stating that a further resignation would be accepted. Harazi told Iranian media that after the message was delivered, Pezeşkiyan and his team stopped issuing resignation threats.
Harazi also asserted that Muhammed Bakır Zülkadr, the Secretary General of the High National Security Council, would be dismissed and replaced by Hamaney’s military adviser Muhsin Rızai. He added that Foreign Minister Abbas Arakçi would no longer participate in nuclear negotiations. The claims were reported by Cumhuriyet, which noted that Harazi’s past statements against reformist politicians had included threats to raid their homes and use violence.
Journalist and political commentator Ahmed Zeydabadi called on Iranian authorities to verify or refute Harazi’s claims, warning that the statements could escalate political tensions. No official response from the presidency, the Supreme Leader’s office, or the foreign ministry has been reported.
What the coverage left out
No centre- or right-rated outlet ran this story at all. The claims about Pezeşkiyan’s resignation threats, Hamaney’s message, and the predicted dismissals were not reported by any outlet outside the left-rated Cumhuriyet.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
- The left-rated Cumhuriyet led its report on Harazi’s claims about President Pezeşkiyan’s repeated resignation threats and the Supreme Leader’s response. The article quoted Harazi’s statement that Hamaney told Pezeşkiyan, “If you resign once more, we will accept it.” Cumhuriyet also carried Harazi’s predictions of personnel changes, including the replacement of the national security secretary and the exclusion of the foreign minister from nuclear talks.
- Cumhuriyet included commentary from Ahmed Zeydabadi, who questioned Harazi’s credibility and called for an official statement. The report noted Harazi’s history of making violent threats against reformist politicians, describing past remarks in which he said he would “raid the bedrooms” of opponents and “put bombs in their mouths.”
Centre
We hold no leaning breakdown for this story, so there is nothing to report about the centre.
Right
We hold no leaning breakdown for this story, so there is nothing to report about the right.
Read it at the source
1 outlet, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original.
Left
1Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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