Sidelined and seething, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confronted the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with what sources described as an unprecedented outburst, telling them that the strike on the UAE had been "madness."
According to a report by Iran International, Pezeshkian unleashed his fury on associates of Ahmad Vahidi, the IRGC commander. His anger centered on the decision to strike the UAE with a barrage of missiles and drones – a decision from which he had been entirely excluded.
Well-placed sources in Tehran said Pezeshkian described the Revolutionary Guards' missile and drone strikes on the UAE as a "completely irresponsible" act carried out without the government's knowledge or coordination. During the strike, several people were injured at an energy facility near Fujairah, and the site sustained significant damage.
Pezeshkian called the IRGC's approach to escalating tensions with regional states "madness" and warned of its irreversible consequences. As the situation deteriorated and the prospect of another war loomed, the president sought an immediate emergency meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei to urge him to halt Revolutionary Guards attacks on Persian Gulf states and prevent their recurrence.
According to Iran International, Pezeshkian intended to stress at that meeting that a narrow window still exists to salvage a ceasefire agreement through urgent diplomatic action – and that he should be allowed to signal to international mediators that Tehran was willing to return to the negotiating table.
Sources close to the presidential establishment in Tehran told Iran International that those around the president were deeply alarmed by possible international repercussions and believed the country lacked the capacity to enter a new full-scale war.
This political deadlock came at a time when observers believed that dual battlefield leadership had placed the Islamic Republic on the brink of military self-destruction. Iran International had previously published exclusive reports on deep divisions at the top of the Islamic Republic's leadership.
