IRGC statements marking Operation Eternal Light anniversary and escalating factional infighting reveal a regime consumed by internal decay and growing fear of organized resistance.
The Iranian regime’s escalating internal factional warfare, accompanied by increasingly desperate statements from the IRGC, has once again exposed the depth of its political deadlock, institutional fragmentation, and mounting fear of the organized Resistance and its expanding network of Resistance Units.
Far from projecting confidence, recent official statements and media exchanges reveal a leadership struggling to contain both internal divisions and external pressure. As the regime attempts to rally its supporters through familiar propaganda, its own officials and state-controlled media continue to acknowledge a system suffering from profound structural decay.
IRGC Uses Operation Eternal Light Anniversary to Warn Its Own Forces
In a statement marking the 38th anniversary of Operation Eternal Light (Forough Javidan), the IRGC once again devoted significant attention to the role of the PMOI/MEK in anti-regime protests, highlighting what it described as the organization’s “prominent role” in nationwide uprisings.
Attempting to portray the regime’s military operation known as “Mersad” as a historic victory, the statement declared:
“The historical memory of the Iranian nation shows that one of the most magnificent manifestations of the Iranian people’s insight and authority in confronting the hypocrite movement was realized through the epic of Mersad.”
Yet such annual declarations increasingly serve another purpose: they underscore the regime’s persistent fear that organized opposition remains its principal existential threat. Each year, authorities effectively commemorate not only a past military confrontation but also their continued survival, while reminding their increasingly demoralized security forces of what they consider the greatest danger to the regime’s future.
State Media Compare the Regime to a Cancer Patient
The regime’s own newspapers have offered unusually stark assessments of the country’s political condition.
The state-affiliated newspaper Arman-e Melli compared the regime’s current situation to a patient suffering from advanced cancer, warning that:
“The continuation of this situation could create serious dangers for the country’s future. It is therefore necessary to prevent the spread and metastasis of this phenomenon; otherwise society may reach a stage where returning it to the correct path becomes extremely difficult or even impossible.”
The metaphor of metastasis reflects growing concern among establishment figures that the regime’s internal crises are no longer isolated problems but interconnected failures spreading throughout the political system.
Warnings of Internal Decay Intensify
Another state newspaper, Jahan-e Sanat, employed a different but equally revealing metaphor, describing the political establishment as a decaying tooth that may soon require extraction.
Referring to the current dominance of hardline factions within state media and political institutions, the newspaper warned:
“Now is the time to act. We must not allow this decay to reach the tooth’s nerve and become beyond repair. Otherwise we will be forced to pull the tooth. Some have already crossed the country’s interests simply to preserve their own positions.”
Such language illustrates growing alarm within parts of the establishment that factional competition has reached the point where political survival now outweighs national interests.
Leadership Divisions Become Increasingly Public
Signs of widening divisions at the highest levels of power have also become increasingly visible.
After state television reportedly censored remarks made by President Masoud Pezeshkian, the hardline newspaper Kayhan, which closely reflects the views of the Supreme Leader’s office, publicly reminded the president that under Article 110 of the regime’s constitution, broadcasting authority rests entirely under the control of the Supreme Leader.
The episode highlighted ongoing disputes over authority and media control, further exposing tensions within the regime’s ruling establishment.
Hardline Rhetoric Reflects Deepening Crisis
In another editorial published on July 27, Kayhan intensified its attacks on rival factions with an article titled “Beware That Shimr’s Dagger Is Not Lost.”
By comparing political opponents within the establishment to the historical figures Shimr and Yazid—symbols of betrayal and oppression in Shiite tradition—the newspaper signaled the intensity of the regime’s internal conflict. Such rhetoric reflects growing suspicion among competing factions and fears that internal rivals pose an increasing threat to the regime’s cohesion.
A Regime Consumed by Fear
Taken together, the IRGC’s repeated warnings about the Resistance, increasingly bleak assessments published by state-controlled newspapers, and public infighting among senior officials paint a picture of a regime facing a multidimensional crisis.
Rather than demonstrating confidence, these official statements reveal a political system beset by institutional decay, deep factional divisions, and persistent concern over expanding public dissent. As economic hardship, social unrest, and organized Resistance activities continue to intensify, the regime’s own rhetoric increasingly reflects anxiety about its long-term stability and its ability to preserve its grip on power.
