Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a sharp warning on Thursday, accusing enemy powers of pivoting from military pressure to internal subversion in their bid to bring Iran to heel.
The remarks came as peace negotiations with the United States remained deadlocked and fresh exchanges of fire rattled a fragile ceasefire.
"The enemy's plan and scheme, following the imposed war, economic pressures, and the advertising and political siege, is to create division and social disintegration in order to compensate for the defeats in the military field and to bring the nation to its knees," Khamenei said, in a statement carried by his official media channel.
طرح و نقشهی کور دشمن پس از جنگ تحمیلی و فشار اقتصادی و محاصرهی تبلیغاتی و سیاسی، ایجاد تفرقه و تجزیهی اجتماعی برای جبران شکستهای میدان نظامی و به زانو درآوردن ملّت است.
— رسانه رهبر انقلاب اسلامی (@Rahbarenghelab_) May 28, 2026
The message was a clear signal that Tehran views the post-war phase as a battleground of a different kind — one fought through fracture and economic exhaustion rather than bombs.
In the same address, Khamenei called on Iran's political establishment to focus inward and deliver for its citizens.
"Representatives of the nation must devote all their energies to synergistic governance with the government, on the path of merit-based modernisation of the country, resolving the people's concerns — especially economic and livelihood issues — revitalising production and employment, advancing science and industry, elevating culture and ethics, combating financial corruption, controlling inflation and price hikes, and eradicating deprivation," he said.
نمایندگان ملت، تمام توانشان را برای حکمرانی همافزا با دولت،در مسیر نوسازی شایسته کشور، گرهگشایی از دغدغههای مردم خصوصاً مسائل اقتصادی و معیشتی،رونق تولید و اشتغال، رشد علم و صنعت، اعتلای فرهنگ و اخلاق، مبارزه با فساد مالی، مهار تورم و گرانی و محرومیتزدایی صرف کنند.
— رسانه رهبر انقلاب اسلامی (@Rahbarenghelab_) May 28, 2026
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Mojtaba Khamenei is reported to be hiding in a secret location, communicating via an elaborate network of messengers — precautions taken to avoid the fate of his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
The communication difficulties extend well beyond the Supreme Leader, with most senior Iranian officials, reportedly, spending weeks inside heavily fortified bunkers, avoiding contact with each other unless absolutely necessary.
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The joint US-Israeli strikes killed the then-Supreme Leader and resulted in thousands of deaths, while Iran retaliated with waves of strikes across the Middle East and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Against that backdrop, Mojtaba's emphasis on resisting internal disintegration reads as both a political directive and a survival doctrine for a leadership structure still operating under siege.
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