On the sixth anniversary of the November 2019 nationwide uprising, the Iranian regime finds itself caught in a self-made trap. Facing an explosive society on one side and an uncontrollable internal crisis on the other, the clerical establishment is showing unprecedented signs of decay. This internal rot has manifested as a vicious infighting as rival factions, sensing the weakness of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, are now openly attacking each other. This infighting is not a sign of political maneuvering, but a symptom of deep-seated fear—the fear of a population whose demand for change, so powerfully expressed in 2019, continues to haunt the regime’s corridors of power.
Insiders admit the system is broken
In a striking admission of the regime’s dysfunction, Hossein Marashi, a key political figure, exposed the “great deadlocks” crippling the state. In an interview with the state-run Eco Iran media outlet on November 9, 2025, Marashi pointed directly to the “inefficiencies of the political system.” He noted that President Masoud Pezeshkian, after more than a year in office, has completely failed to deliver on his signature promises of improving foreign policy, achieving national reconciliation, and ending internet censorship.
Marashi explained that this failure is systemic. “Power is in the hands of the leadership [Khamenei], but the responsibility for running the country lies with the government, which does not have all the power,” he stated. He detailed how crucial decisions in the judiciary, military, and even cultural policy are made outside the government’s control. His conclusion was blunt: “With this kind of island-like organization, the country cannot be managed.”
Khamenei’s panic: responding with threats, not solutions
Khamenei’s response was not a political counterargument but a swift and brutal threat. Less than 24 hours later, his mouthpiece, the Kayhan newspaper, published an editorial titled, “Mr. Marashi, this is not your arena to play in!” The article accused Marashi of “aligning… with the overt enemies of the system” and implicitly told him to sit down and be silent.
To enforce this silence, Kayhan brandished the threat of the gallows. It reminded Marashi and other would-be critics that it was Khamenei’s authority alone that “did not allow some of the seditionists and overt collaborators of America and Israel… to be hung on the gallows of punishment.” This menacing language echoes recent calls from regime parliamentarians to prosecute and execute former regime president Hassan Rouhani, revealing a pattern of using terror to stifle any internal dissent.
The echo of 2019: the uprising that haunts the regime
The regime’s current paranoia is rooted in the earth-shattering events of November 2019. Triggered by a sudden spike in fuel prices, protests erupted and spread with incredible speed. Rebellious youth in 191 cities took to the streets, blocking highways and chanting “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator,” sending “tremors of overthrow” through the entire ruling establishment.
Khamenei’s response was a bloodbath. He reportedly ordered his forces to “do whatever it takes,” unleashing a wave of lethal force that killed at least 1,500 people. Security forces used snipers and even machine guns mounted on helicopters against protesters. Despite a near-total internet blackout, the uprising marked an “irrevocable confrontation” between the Iranian people and the ruling theocracy. The regime has been terrified of a repeat ever since.
Six years after the November 2019 uprising, the regime is more fragile and fractured than ever. The public infighting and thuggish threats are not signs of strength but the death rattles of a system that has lost all legitimacy and is terrified of its own people. The admissions from insiders like Marashi confirm what the Iranian people and their Organized Resistance have always known: the regime is incapable of reform and structurally broken. The infighting is a direct result of the courage shown on the streets in 2019. It is the clearest signal yet that the people’s quest for a democratic republic is closer than ever.