An attempted July peace agreement between Iran and the United States collapsed within weeks after hardline factions within the Iranian regime sabotaged diplomatic negotiations, according to a New York Times investigation published following regional escalations. While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and pragmatic officials favored diplomacy to ease domestic economic pressures, a hardline faction moved aggressively to derail the accord over concerns that Tehran was conceding too much to Washington.
The Strait of Hormuz Attack and the Collapse of Diplomacy
The diplomatic track unraveled in early July while President Pezeshkian was visiting Iraq for the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to five Iranian officials and two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps cited by the New York Times, Iranian forces attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, setting fire to a Qatari gas tanker and damaging two other ships.
The Revolutionary Guard headquarters initially did not claim responsibility for the July 7 attack. Upon learning of the strike, President Pezeshkian called Revolutionary Guard commander Ahmad Vahidi to condemn the action as irresponsible. Vahidi reportedly stated he had neither authorized nor known about the operation in advance. Field commanders allegedly acted on their own initiative under a standing directive permitting strikes against any vessel violating Iranian control of the strait without waiting for central command approval.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was dispatched to Oman to communicate this explanation to the United States and regional allies. Despite these diplomatic overtures, the United States launched retaliatory airstrikes the following morning, thrusting the two nations back into active conflict.
Internal Power Struggles and the Rise of Hossein Taeb
Subsequent investigations by the Iranian government and security forces attributed the decision to launch the attack to cleric Hossein Taeb, a powerful former intelligence official within the Revolutionary Guard who opposed the U.S. agreement from the outset, according to Iranian officials cited by the New York Times. Taeb reportedly persuaded the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, that ending the war was a mistake. Mojtaba Khamenei subsequently appointed Taeb to lead the Basij paramilitary militia, which enforces domestic order and suppresses internal dissent.
The attack triggered severe internal strife within the Iranian government, resulting in what sources described to the New York Times as the most violent confrontations ever witnessed within the ruling apparatus. High-ranking officials engaged in shouting matches, two senior military officers threatened resignation, and accusations of treason circulated through official ranks. President Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf pushed back against generals advocating for expanded military escalation, warning that such a strategy would drag Iran into an abyss.
Post-Collapse Strategy and Ongoing Escalation
With an American naval blockade paralyzing southern ports, dropping oil sales to zero, and worsening an acute economic crisis, Tehran faces a stark choice between returning to negotiations or escalating attacks against the United States. Ultraconservative generals have advanced a plan involving Yemen’s Houthi movement and allied Iraqi militia groups to target regional oil infrastructure.
Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to the parliament speaker, told the New York Times that the conflict between Iran and the United States has entered an escalating phase as radical factions assert control over the regime’s direction.
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