The Soft Coup in Iran

Saturday, July 18, 2026

As Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian walked alongside the coffin of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran last week, some of the black-clad mourners surrounding him chanted not in tribute to the late leader, but directly at him " "death to the compromiser." Not far from that site, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's top diplomat who negotiated a ceasefire with the Trump administration and lifted some sanctions on the Islamic Republic, was forced to flee the funeral after a mob pelted him with rocks amid death chants accusing him of being a "traitorous sellout."

Posted by sitzkrieg at 02:47 PM | 8 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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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.

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Are they wrong?

#1 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-07-18 03:36 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

Like when we deposed the leader of Iraq, throwing their civil society into chaos, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Iraqi civilians.

This is what Republicans have always wanted for Iran. Murdering millions of Iranian civilians would be a Republican wet dream come true.

Don't take my word for it. Just ask any Republican. They'll be happy to tell you.

#2 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-07-18 05:28 PM | Reply

In January, DJT promised the Iranian people that if they rose up against the tyranny of their Regime, America would come to their aid.

They did, we didn't, and 40k of them died.

Now he's bombing civilian targets, just like his mentor Vlad.

Are Trumpers still proud of their Cult Leader?

#3 | Posted by Corky at 2026-07-18 05:36 PM | Reply

And, of course, the leadership there now is more radical than those we assasinated.

#4 | Posted by Corky at 2026-07-18 05:45 PM | Reply

Pretty sure this is all made up -------- . Typical ignorant military thinking.

#5 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-07-18 05:49 PM | Reply

The article is arguing the opposite. More moderate voices seized the void and are taking radicals out of power.

#6 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2026-07-18 06:37 PM | Reply

More moderate voices seized the void and are taking radicals out of power.
#6 | Posted by sitzkrieg

That's not what happened in Israel (or most any other country) after their leader got assassinated.

No reason for Iran to choose "moderation" in the face of religious fanatic nuclear armed Zionists currently ethnically cleansing southern Lebanon. What does that get them? Absolutely nothing.

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-07-18 08:49 PM | Reply

Sitzwar is just Scared of the Hardline Iranians.

They Ooze Too Much Testosterone.

So he's Comforting himself with Fantasy.

Like most people do when the Situation is Inscrutable and Unresolved.

Nobody wants to face a Truly Implacable Foe.

One who won't see "Reason".

That's the kind our own actions have Created.

Israel sure knows how to Piss people off...

War is more than just Weapons Systems.

#8 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2026-07-18 11:07 PM | Reply