Iran’s Wartime Struggle for Internal Supremacy

The divide between hardliners and pragmatists has become the primary axis of internal competition. Pragmatists, represented by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, view diplomacy and tension reduction as the only viable path to economic stabilization and regime survival. Conversely, the hardline camp—anchored by the IRGC, the Paydari Front, and state media—frames any pursuit of negotiations as a betrayal of revolutionary ideals. They argue that maintaining a state of perpetual resistance is essential to keep the population in check and prevent the collapse of the existing security-oriented order.

This rivalry is intensified by the staggering economic toll of the conflict, which has crippled industrial sectors and fueled an 87.9 percent inflation rate. The reconstruction effort represents a massive future prize, promising control over lucrative contracts and the direction of Iran’s foreign alliances. While the hardliners rely on ideological mobilization to maintain influence, their inability to address systemic crises like power shortages and poverty has failed to generate a broad rally-around-the-flag effect. As the regime’s military and economic infrastructure weakens, the outcome of the war will likely act as a final arbiter, determining which faction gains the institutional capital to dictate the country’s future.