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Iran in crisis as US talks collapse, Mojtaba’s ‘mafia’ regime blocks Khamenei burial: analyst
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A prolonged delay in the burial of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signals a deepening crisis inside the Islamic Republic, according to a prominent Iranian strategist.
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad’s remarks came as peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled and internal tensions raised questions about the regime’s stability.
Fortieth-day mourning ceremonies for Khamenei began in Iran on April 9, with authorities withholding information about his burial more than 40 days after his killing. A three-day state funeral scheduled for early March 2026 had already been postponed.
IRAN’S CEASEFIRE PUSH MAY BE A ‘CYCLE OF DECEPTION,’ ANALYSTS WARN AS SHADOWY FIGURE GAINS POWER
Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran and second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 13, 2024. (Hamed Jafarnejad/ISNA/WANA/Reuters)
“Forty-four days have passed, and the regime does not have the confidence to publicly bury Mojtaba’s dead father,” Sepehrrad of the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) told Fox News Digital.
“That is an indicator of the fear within this regime from top to bottom,” Sepehrrad added, before describing how, usually, “a religious regime believes that their dead must be buried in 24 hours.”
Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 in a strike targeting a regime compound in central Tehran, with a separate strike affecting his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who succeeded him.
Mojtaba is said to be still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters on April 11.
Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in central Tehran, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, three sources told the outlet.
“The 56-year-old is nonetheless recovering from his wounds and remains mentally sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.”
IRAN MODERATES PUSHING TRUMP DEAL RISK BEING ‘ELIMINATED’ AS REGIME FRACTURES DEEPEN
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the head of the judiciary and Alireza Arafi, deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, attend the meeting of the interim leadership council of Iran in an unknown location, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Iran, March 1, 2026. (IRIB/WANA/Handout/Reuters)
He is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is engaged in decision-making on major issues, including the war and negotiations with Washington, two of the sources say, according to reports.
The report came as Iran navigated diplomatic efforts with the U.S. in Islamabad aimed at easing tensions amid a two-week ceasefire, which ultimately failed to produce a breakthrough.
“Mojtaba input in the broad red lines of negotiations, even if he is not the public face,” Sepehrrad claimed. “At the end of the day, for more than 10 years, he served as his father’s right-hand man and as a conduit to the IRGC.”
“Mojtaba may be less rhetorical, less publicly ideological, and more operational because his primary focus is survival of the regime.”
Iran also confirmed Sunday it had no plans for further peace talks after the marathon summit, where Pakistan mediated.
“No plan has yet been announced for the time, place, or next round of negotiations,” Iranian state news agency Nour reported Saturday, citing the country’s Supreme National Security Council, with no statement from the new Supreme Leader.
IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES
A mourner holds a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (top-L) on March 5, 2026, during a funeral procession for members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) who were killed in a strike in Baghdad the previous day. The Tehran-backed Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah said on March 5 that one of its commanders was killed in a strike in southern Iraq the previous day. (Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP)
“Mojtaba is less the supreme leader in the traditional sense and more the coordinator of a security-led system,” Sepehrrad explained before describing him as “more like a security-backed coordinator.”
“This regime does not communicate with one unified voice. It communicates by function,” Sepehrrad said.
“One channel negotiates, another threatens, another punishes, and another tries to maintain ideological continuity. It is now a mafia,” the strategist claimed.
“The key point is not harmony but division of labor. What holds them together is regime survival, not trust.”
“What we are seeing now is deeper: a leader who lacks organic authority and therefore governs through the institution that controls force,” Sepehrrad said.
On the Iranian side, negotiations, the analyst said, also did involve “diplomats,” but a wider circle of security-linked figures shaping Tehran’s posture, reflecting the increasing dominance of hardline institutions.
US-SANCTIONED MOJTABA KHAMENEI NAMED IRAN’S NEXT SUPREME LEADER AFTER FATHER’S DEATH: REPORTS
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were greeted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir upon their arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on April 11, 2026. (Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs/AP)
“This was a brittle coalition of security men,” Sepehrrad said, before describing how Mojtaba is “at the top, but is heavily reliant on the Guards, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, SNSC chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, Judiciary chief Mohseni-Ejei, and law enforcement chief Ahmad-Reza Radan.”
“Several of the most important surviving figures are not primarily diplomats,” Sepehrrad said before suggesting that that should “change how we should read everything coming out of Tehran.”
“That is a different system from the one many Western analysts still think they are dealing with,” Sepehrrad explained. “Dual track — tactical flexibility in talks and a harsher repression at home.”
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“While the regime negotiates to buy time, reduce pressure on its forces, and prevent broader external escalation, internally, it is likely to intensify arrests, executions, intimidation, and internet controls now,” the strategist warned.
“The regime fears internal unrest more than diplomacy,” Sepehrrad said.
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The United Kingdom on Monday blamed an Iran-linked proxy group for a string of antisemitic arson attacks targeting British Jewish sites, prompting the government to ban Tehran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and impose sweeping new powers to crack down on foreign-backed sabotage.
British officials said the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) publicly claimed responsibility for seven attacks this year targeting Jewish and Israeli-linked locations, as well as a Persian-language media outlet critical of Iran’s government. According to the U.K. government, members of the IRGC’s elite Qods Force were “almost certainly” directing the group’s operations across Europe.
The attacks included fires at synagogues, Jewish charity ambulances and other Jewish community sites in London. No injuries were reported.
DESANTIS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO USE NEW STATE LAW TO TARGET DOZENS OF ALLEGED TERRORIST GROUPS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a reception with the Jewish community to discuss efforts to tackle antisemitism, at Downing Street, in London, July 13, 2026. (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett/Pool)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the new measures send a clear message to foreign adversaries seeking to sow violence.
“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer discusses efforts to tackle antisemitism at Downing Street in London, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)
If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf of the IRGC, IMCR or Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.
The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operations inside the United Kingdom.
“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said. “I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.”
ISRAEL FORTIFIES BORDER WITH JORDAN AS IRAN SEEKS NEW TERROR PATH
The government said IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. British intelligence officials say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly recruited members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage, intimidation and physical attacks across Europe, often targeting Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents.
Charred remains of ambulances belonging to Hatzola, a Jewish community organization, which were set on fire in an incident that the police say is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, in London, March 23, 2026. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
According to the U.K., MI5 identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots against individuals in Britain over the past year. The government has already sanctioned more than 550 Iranian-linked individuals and entities and has pledged £250 million ($334,662,500) over three years to strengthen security for Jewish communities, including increased protection for synagogues, schools and community centers.
Britain also designated Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, saying the group acts as a proxy for Russian military intelligence by recruiting individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson and other hostile operations.
The crackdown comes just weeks after two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television station in London, an attack a British judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.
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Iran did not immediately comment on Monday’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The European Union has sanctioned VK Company, which dominates Russia’s online sphere, for colluding with the Kremlin to identify critics of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and curtail access to independent sources of information.
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VK Company runs VKontakte, the country’s most popular social media site. Often described as “the Russian Facebook”, it has an estimated 70 million users.
The decision, taken on Monday by foreign ministers, points the finger at VK Company and an associated firm for developing and managing Max App, which is state-backed and comes pre-installed on all phones and tablets sold in Russia.
Citing experts, Brussels argues that Max App has “extensive surveillance features” that Russian authorities use to track online communications, gather data, monitor address books, identify user location and install autonomous updates.
The imposition of Max App has helped the state crack down on competitors, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram, and on VPNs, the private networks that Russians employ to bypass increasingly stringent state restrictions on the Internet.
“VK has cooperated with Russian authorities in their repressive actions, including by providing them with data concerning users of its services who posted content criticising Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, or other content banned by the authorities,” the legal text says.
“VK has also participated in the government-ordered ban on the use of VPNs, through which Russian internet users could previously access independent content.”
Monday’s decision introduces an asset freeze and prohibits EU companies from making funds available to VK Company. In a statement to Russian state-owned media outlet TASS, the firm said that its applications and services remained “available to users as normal”.
Besides VK Company, the EU also sanctioned Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans, three companies that provide hardware and software for the so-called System of Operative Investigative Measures that Russian authorities use to track online communication and target journalists, opposition figures, minority groups and ordinary citizens.
The restrictions were adopted under a special regime dedicated to punishing human rights violations.
Separately, the EU sanctionednine individuals and four entities accused of carrying out “malicious” cyber attacks against several member states.
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