With Iran’s leadership in shambles, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has effectively seized control of the country’s government.
Reuters reported in March that the IRGC forced the appointment of the new Supreme Leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes. It has taken authority over Iran’s wartime decision-making, leaving elected civilian officials on the sidelines.
Internal power shift in Tehran: IRGC military council has restricted access to Supreme Leader Khamenei and sidelined President Pezeshkian from key decisions — Guards tightening grip as war enters Day 33, raising questions about Iran command structure. #Hormuz
— Hormuz Watch (@HormuzWatch) April 1, 2026
The country appears to be moving from an Islamic Republic toward a centralized military regime as the IRGC seizes more power in the weeks as the nation sustains serious damage from the bombing campaigns.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not made a public appearance since being appointed to his position. Iranian media reported he was wounded in the same strike that killed his father. But it is believed that if he recovers, he won’t have the same level of power as his predecessor. “Mojtaba owes his position to the Revolutionary Guards and as such he is not going to be as supreme as his father was,” Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Reuters.
Iran has a new Supreme Leader. It does not matter. The 31 IRGC provincial commands that control the missiles, the drones, and the airspace do not answer to him.
— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) March 9, 2026
Mojtaba Khamenei was named Supreme Leader on 8 March. First hereditary succession in the Republic’s history. Rank of… pic.twitter.com/9SdpFAW3kU
Former IRGC co-founder Mohsen Sazegara, told Euronews, "Right now the biggest issue in front of him is the question of war and reconciliation or peace. If he chooses peace he has one problem, and if he does not choose peace the country is heading somewhere whose end is unclear."
The de facto leadership includes a three-member wartime council of IRGC-linked figures. This includes former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei, current IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
IRGC co-founder Mohsen Sazegara said, “At present the IRGC has the upper hand and has threatened everyone that under wartime conditions, if you oppose them, you may even be sentenced to prison or execution.”
He also noted that “a faction and circle of IRGC commanders who control these sectors currently have the upper hand and they will be the determining force.”
President Donald Trump gave the regime a two-week extension on his deadline to agree to Washington’s demands. Over the weekend, he issued a series of threats to launch airstrikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and bridges if the regime did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday evening.
Pakistani officials have helped to broker a temporary ceasefire as Washington and Tehran continue negotiations over the country’s nuclear program. “Based on conversations with Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks," Trump wrote on Truth Social