Iran’s hardliners warn of a ‘coup’ as US truce comes under pressure

” The hostility directed at top officials during the funeral reflects a theory that has been gaining traction within the Islamic Republic’s most radical factions for months: that Iran’s wartime leaders who negotiated and signed the agreement with Washington are staging a soft coup against the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary ideals while the new supreme leader remains largely invisible for fear of his life – or, as some have suggested, because he is incapacitated.

Other officials under hardline scrutiny include Iran’s chief negotiator with the US, Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard commander with deep political experience whose credentials enabled him to step up and take charge during the war, emerging as the regime’s de-facto lead operator with broad acceptability.‘Us, the blade and your throat’ Despite widespread calls for wartime unity across Iran, the weeklong grand funeral for Khamenei, killed in late February in Israeli airstrikes coordinated with the United States, became a powerful showcase for the Islamic Republic’s most hardline supporters.