Secret correspondence claims suggest tensions at top of Iranian government

What Happened

On state broadcaster IRIB, Mahmoud Nabavian, deputy chair of Iran's National Security Council and a former member of Iran's negotiating team, revealed what he claimed were secret letters from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The interview was cut off, the archived footage removed, and a senior IRIB official resigned. Nabavian claimed the letters showed Khamenei believed the negotiating team had overstepped its mandate and set 11 conditions for continuing talks, including US compensation, uranium enrichment rights, sanctions relief, and exclusive Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz with toll collection. He later posted on Telegram, alleging four preconditions for negotiations to begin: end of occupation in Lebanon, release of frozen funds, lifting of a siege, and temporary sanctions removal, questioning whether they were met before talks in Geneva. The negotiating team's spokesperson dismissed the claims as old and distorted, while the camp of chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called for the leaker to be identified. The episode exposed factional tensions, with hardliners from the Paydari (Stability Front) accused of using IRIB to undermine the negotiations.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The revelations expose deep factional rifts at the apex of Iran's government over nuclear diplomacy and regional strategy. If the supreme leader's conditions as described by Nabavian are authentic—particularly the demand for tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and a halt to talks unless preconditions are met—it could derail ongoing negotiations in Switzerland and escalate tensions with the US and its allies. The incident also signals a power struggle between hardline Paydari loyalists and the Pezeshkian administration, potentially weakening Iran's negotiating coherence and raising doubts about the durability of any agreement.

Watch For

Imminent steps: possible formal prosecution or parliamentary dismissal of Nabavian; formal responses from the negotiating team or supreme leader's office; any disruption or hardening of positions at the Geneva talks; and any actual moves to enforce toll collection in the Strait of Hormuz, which could prompt a US military reaction. Also monitor IRIB's internal shake-up and further leaks from Nabavian's Telegram channel.