Iran Removes Mahmoud Nabavian From Security Panel as Hardliners Push to Scrap US Truce
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 18
Iran Removes Mahmoud Nabavian From Security Panel as Hardliners Push to Scrap US Truce
2 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 18
Summary
Tuesday’s shake-up ousted Mahmoud Nabavian from parliament’s National Security Commission, sidelining one of the loudest critics of Iran’s agreement with Washington and his claims that visible leaders were staging a “coup.”
Nabavian had tried to derail last month’s deal by leaking its text and accusing negotiators of crossing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s red lines, making his removal a sign that President Masoud Pezeshkian’s camp and allies around Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are curbing radical opponents.
That struggle has spilled into public view since Ali Khamenei’s funeral, where Pezeshkian was met with “death to the compromiser” chants and top diplomat Abbas Araghchi fled after mourners threw rocks and called him a traitor.
The infighting comes as a fragile US-Iran ceasefire is unraveling after Revolutionary Guards attacks in the Strait of Hormuz drew US retaliation, giving hardliners fresh momentum to demand renewed war even as the regime still seeks sanctions relief.
With the Iran-US ceasefire dead, is a wider war over the Strait of Hormuz now inevitable?
Is Iran’s invisible Supreme Leader a hostage, as a military coup quietly unfolds?
Is Iran’s power struggle a sign of regime collapse or the birth of a more aggressive military state?
Iran in 2026: Parliamentary Purge, Fragile US Truce, and the Hardliner-Pragmatist Divide
Overview
In July 2026, Iran’s parliament, shaken by the deaths of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials in US and Israeli strikes, saw lawmakers demand revenge and a major reshuffle of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. This shift in Iran’s security leadership came just weeks after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a Memorandum of Understanding to end hostilities. However, the agreement left key issues unresolved, especially Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, highlighting ongoing tensions and uncertainty in both Iran’s internal politics and its relations with the US.