{"id":1677,"date":"2025-08-02T16:47:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T13:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabic-center.net\/?p=1677"},"modified":"2025-08-02T16:47:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T13:47:17","slug":"who-calls-the-shots-irans-policy-split-laid-bare-by-shadow-rule-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arabic-center.net\/?p=1677","title":{"rendered":"Who calls the shots? Iran’s policy split laid bare by \u2018shadow rule\u2019 claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Allegations of a \u201cshadow government\u201d meddling in Iran\u2019s foreign policy have reignited concerns about the country\u2019s diplomatic direction, just as high-stakes nuclear talks with the West hang in the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term\u2014now increasingly invoked in political discourse\u2014refers to an unofficial power network believed to influence key decisions behind the scenes, beyond the authority of the Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an unsigned commentary on Tuesday, the conservative Jomhouri Eslami newspaper accused the ministry of failing to assert control over foreign policy, blaming Tehran\u2019s limited success on interference from shadow actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose whose heavy shadow over the 2015 nuclear deal and many negotiations caused irreparable damage continue to dictate terms in foreign policy, especially in the realm of negotiations,\u201d it wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The piece warned that such interference, \u201cunder the very sensitive current circumstances, is more dangerous than deadly poison.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jalili in the Crosshairs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although no names were mentioned, Iranian media widely interpreted the remarks as targeting ultra-hardliner Saeed Jalili and his circle of allies<\/a> in the Paydari Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jalili, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Masoud Pezeshkian, previously served as Iran\u2019s chief nuclear negotiator during the years leading up to 2010, when multiple rounds of UN sanctions were imposed on Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He remains a trusted figure for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, serving as his representative to the Supreme National Security Council and sitting on both the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and the Expediency Discernment Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Saeed