Tehran's political factions attack president over inaction

Criticism of President Masoud Pezeshkian is no longer confined to his political rivals, whom he sought to appease by allocating many cabinet positions. Even the Reformist faction is growing frustrated with his lack of direction and inaction.

In a YouTube debate on good governance, both Reformist commentator Payam Borazjani and hardline conservative figure Saeed Ajorlou criticized President Pezeshkian for inaction and inefficiency. Ironically, Borazjani faulted the president for attending a meeting on potato prices instead of addressing deeper structural flaws in the economic system.

Elsewhere in the debate, Borazjani remarked, "The President's office still has a helicopter in a shelter at the airport, and this country is full of mountains," in what appeared to be an allusion to former President Ebrahim Raisi's sudden death in a helicopter crash last year. Some speculate that Raisi’s death was not accidental but rather a move to sideline him due to his ineffectiveness.

Borazjani said that Reformists had high expectations of Pezeshkian, when after Raisi’s death he announced his candidacy, but he has let down and disappointed everyone.

While Pezeshkian is viewed as an ineffective president amid the country’s deep economic crisis, some argue that the crippling US sanctions are beyond his control and that he lacks the authority to negotiate or reach a nuclear agreement with Washington.

Although President Donald Trump has demanded talks, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last month ruled out any negotiations, and officials cited Trump’s threats as a reason for Tehran’s refusal to negotiate.

Tehran University academic Kiumars Yazdanpanah argued in an article on the conservative Nameh News website that the deadlock in negotiations with the United States is not merely a result of Trump's pressure, as officials claim.

"The political impasse within Iran is just as significant as its isolation on the international stage," Yazdanpanah stated. He further suggested that the government should seek an alternative path out of the crisis—one that avoids both war and an imposed agreement.

The academic criticized Pezeshkian and other Iranian politicians for dwelling on missed opportunities to revive the 2015 nuclear deal instead of seeking new solutions. He also faulted the government for adopting a confrontational approach rather than maintaining its earlier push for rapprochement, which was abandoned after Khamenei ruled out negotiations with Washington.

Meanwhile, politicians and media commentators continue to criticize Pezeshkian's national reconciliation initiative. Some, including Borazjani and Ajorlou, argue that his efforts are limited to reconciling with his hardliner rivals.

Others, such as reformist commentator Ahmad Zeidabadi, maintain that "reconciliation has not succeeded and is unlikely to succeed, even between the parliament and the administration."

On Monday, media reports indicated that parliament has summoned 11 of Pezeshkian's cabinet ministers, demanding explanations about their performance. This marks the first formal step in any impeachment process. By Tuesday, reports suggested that at least one minister, Labor Minister Ahmad Maydari, had failed to satisfy lawmakers with his responses, making it likely that his case will advance to an impeachment motion following a review by the Majles Economic Committee.

Meanwhile, reformist cleric Rassoul Montajabnia told Khabar Online that the ultraconservative Paydari Party is determined to unseat Pezeshkian. However, as demonstrated by the March 2 vote to dismiss minister of economy Abdolnaser Hemmati, opposition to Pezeshkian in parliament extends far beyond Paydari, whose numbers, even in the most optimistic estimates, do not exceed 100 MPs.

Former lawmaker Jalal Mahmoudzadeh commented on Instagram that following the impeachment of Hemmati and the forced resignation of Vice President Javad Zarif, "opponents of the administration now hold 75 percent of the posts in Pezeshkian's cabinet, while radicals control key economic institutions. If the administration does not rethink its approach to reconciliation, it should brace for even more difficult days ahead."