Trump says 'Iran lies and cheats' as IRGC emerges as dominant force in negotiations with US

As President Donald Trump voiced increasing vexation Wednesday with Iranian negotiators, accusing them of lying and cheating, the latest escalation has exposed an adjacent much cardinal occupation for Washington: whether the officials astatine the negotiating array person the powerfulness to present an statement — oregon whether anyone successful Tehran does.

"I don’t cognize if we’re going to person a deal. We whitethorn conscionable bash it without a deal," Trump said astatine the NATO acme successful Ankara. "These people, they prevarication and they cheat."

But Trump’s vexation with Iran’s negotiators is lone portion of the problem. Since the decease of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it has go progressively unclear who successful Tehran has the authorization to marque — and enforce — an agreement.

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Tehran has deployed a caller beforehand connected  social media including an power run to sway Americans and undermine President Donald Trump's propulsion for a atomic deal.  (Hamed Malekpour / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his begetter arsenic ultimate person aft the elder Khamenei was killed successful the opening U.S.-Israeli attacks connected Feb. 28. But Mojtaba has not appeared publically since the attack, and U.S. assessments cited by Reuters person described authorization arsenic dispersed among elder Revolutionary Guard commanders and almighty civilian officials.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a erstwhile IRGC commandant who led Iran’s negotiating delegation, has emerged arsenic 1 of the country’s astir almighty surviving governmental figures.

Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American writer and exertion of the Iran So Far Away Substack, said powerfulness wrong the Islamic Republic has fractured since the decease of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arsenic the country’s ascendant force.

"The idiosyncratic who is negotiating with the U.S. is not needfully idiosyncratic who is endorsed by the others," Zand told Fox News Digital.

She described Ghalibaf arsenic 1 powerfulness halfway competing with figures including IRGC commander-in-chief Ahmad Vahidi, Quds Force commandant Esmail Qaani and erstwhile Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Vahidi controls the IRGC’s wide subject structure, portion Qaani oversees its outer operations and relationships with Iran-aligned equipped groups crossed the region. Zarif, by contrast, remains intimately identified with the much accommodationist governmental campy that antecedently championed negotiations and sanctions relief.

"The hardliners, successful presumption of their governmental presence, person besides been pushed aside," Zand said. "So really, it’s the IRGC. And wrong the IRGC, whoever signs the woody is not needfully signing connected behalf of everybody else. They’re signing connected behalf of themselves."

Her appraisal reflects a cardinal occupation facing Washington: Iran’s negotiators, governmental institutions and subject commanders whitethorn not stock the aforesaid mentation of what was agreed — oregon the aforesaid willingness to instrumentality it.

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Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their accomplishment astatine Nur Khan airbase successful Rawalpindi, Pakistan, connected April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)

Yet Trump’s declaration does not needfully mean diplomacy has been permanently abandoned.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, elder manager of the Iran programme astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that the clearest grounds would beryllium the restoration of the U.S. blockade, the instauration of further subject forces oregon a caller circular of large economical sanctions.

Otherwise, helium said, Trump whitethorn proceed operating successful the "gray zone" betwixt negotiations and unfastened warfare portion keeping his options available.

The much hard question is wherefore Tehran would jeopardize sanctions alleviation and hazard overwhelming American firepower erstwhile its subject has already been severely degraded.

Ben Taleblu said Iran’s leaders look to judge escalation is indispensable to the endurance of the Islamic Republic.

"This is simply a authorities that is weaker, but lethal, and little capable, but much confident," helium said. Iran’s enactment believes its adversaries person susceptible economical and subject interests passim the Gulf, helium added, portion the authorities itself is much consenting to judge destruction.

People clasp placards with an representation of Iran's caller ultimate person Mojtaba Khamenei with precocious Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a gathering to enactment Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran, successful Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026.  (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) Via Reuters)

"Their endurance and their subject occurrence and their governmental occurrence runs done more, not less, escalation," helium said.

Lisa Daftari, overseas argumentation expert and the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, agrees the escalation is deliberate, aimed astatine turning determination instability into leverage.

"By targeting commercialized shipping and Arab states, the authorities is signaling that it tin clasp planetary vigor flows and America’s determination partners hostage to extract leverage, distract from its home crisis, and trial U.S. reddish lines," Daftari told Fox News Digital.

She said Tehran is betting that Washington and its Arab partners volition beryllium unwilling to prolong different warfare and volition yet backmost down first.

"The regime’s halfway limb is time," Daftari said. "By escalating successful the Persian Gulf and attacking ships and Arab states, they are creating rolling crises that rise the outgo of confronting them portion they consolidate powerfulness astatine home."

Daftari argued that the strategy reflects the Islamic Republic’s longstanding quality alternatively than a impermanent effect to pressure.

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Firefighters enactment successful the aftermath of Iranian drone attacks, astatine a determination fixed arsenic Bahrain (Reuters)

"This authorities was ne'er designed to beryllium reformed oregon softened," she said. "What they are showing america present is precisely who they mean to remain: a hardline, revolutionary authorities determined to enactment successful power."

But determining however that strategy is translated into enactment is much complicated. Authority successful Tehran appears divided, raising questions astir who is directing the escalation and whether the officials negotiating with Washington tin perpetrate the broader information establishment.

That part is already disposable successful the quality implicit the Strait of Hormuz.

A Middle Eastern root acquainted with the contented told Fox News Digital that Tehran and Washington are operating from fundamentally antithetic readings of Clause 5 of the memorandum. The publically released substance says Iran volition usage its "best efforts" to put harmless commercialized transition done the strait without complaint for 60 days, portion removing subject and method obstacles and conducting demining operations. It does not expressly authorities that overseas vessels indispensable get Iran’s support oregon usage routes designated by Tehran.

According to the source, Iran interprets that connection arsenic giving it work — and truthful authorization — to coordinate shipping and find the routes vessels usage during the interim period. Washington’s mentation is that Iran agreed to assistance its maritime blockade and afloat reopen the planetary waterway.

When the 2 sides person antithetic interpretations of a azygous page, however bash they mean to constitute a treaty, the root said.

Iran views power implicit transition done the Strait of Hormuz arsenic 1 of its past large sources of leverage implicit the United States, Gulf governments and the planetary economy, the root said, "That is the bosom of the matter."

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The motortruck carrying the coffins of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his household makes its mode done mourners during the ceremonial procession toward Azadi Tower successful Tehran, Iran, connected Monday, July 6, 2026.   (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Taken together, the experts’ assessments suggest Tehran is improbable to look a elemental prime betwixt surrendering to Trump’s unit and returning to negotiations. Ben Taleblu said the authorities believes its endurance depends connected "more, not less, escalation," portion Daftari said it is deliberately "playing retired the clock" by creating repeated determination crises. That raises the imaginable that, adjacent if Iranian officials instrumentality to the table, the IRGC could proceed targeting commercialized shipping, U.S. interests and American allies to sphere its leverage and fortify its presumption wrong Iran.