The rumour, first disseminated by the London-based, opposition-leaning Iran International network, alleged that Pezeshkian had handed a formal letter to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, declaring he could no longer discharge his duties because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had seized control of strategic decision-making. The network cited anonymous officials who claimed the president felt “excluded from major decisions” and that hard‑line factions within the IRGC now determined the republic’s direction. That report instantly ricocheted across international media, from New Delhi to Moscow, feeding narratives of a deepening crisis inside Tehran.

Within hours, the Iranian establishment mounted a co‑ordinated rebuttal. Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy communications chief in the presidential office, branded the story “ridiculous media rumours” on social media. The Tasnim news agency, close to the IRGC, quoted an unnamed government source who flatly stated that Pezeshkian “has not resigned and continues to perform his duties.” The presidency itself released a video of Pezeshkian chairing a meeting, projecting a resolve that matched his own defiant words uttered earlier: “I will continue as long as I breathe; either we proceed with strength, or we are martyred — in either case, it is victory.” The 71‑year‑old heart‑surgeon‑turned‑politician insisted his life was no more valuable than that of the country’s senior leaders, a direct reference to the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom he described as a “martyred” figure.

The speed and vigour of the denials reflect an acute awareness in Tehran that such a leak — whether fabricated or leaked deliberately — can erode public confidence at a fragile moment. While government spokespeople dismissed the episode as foreign‑sponsored psychological warfare designed to foment domestic division, analysts in London noted that the Iran International report, however disputed, echoed longstanding power struggles between reformist politicians and the security apparatus. Viewed from Washington, the affair offers fresh evidence of what former President Trump has called a “seriously fractured” regime, complicating already fraught ceasefire negotiations between Iran and the United States.

Pezeshkian’s own camp appeared to signal, through the president’s renewed calls for “transparency” and a change in the management style, that the struggle over the scope of presidential authority is real even if a resignation letter was never submitted. For the moment, the immediate crisis has been contained. Yet the incident underscores a fundamental problem: as long as the IRGC retains a veto over diplomacy and economic policy, even a reformist president committed to engagement will find his room for manoeuvre painfully narrow. The denials may have quashed a rumour, but they have done little to dispel the uncertainty that hangs over Iranian governance.