A growing power struggle inside Tehran is threatening the implementation of the U.S.-Iran peace agreement, as President Masoud Pezeshkian pushes to secure the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) insists that control of the Strait of Hormuz take priority, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Pezeshkian is seeking the release of frozen Iranian funds to help rebuild the country’s economy after years of sanctions and the recent war. Negotiations in Doha include the release of $6 billion held in Qatar under Qatari supervision, part of a reported $12 billion in Iranian assets.
The IRGC, however, has told mediators it will close the Strait of Hormuz again unless Iran is granted sole control over the strategic waterway. It is also demanding that the U.S. abandon plans to route commercial shipping through the southern portion of the strait near Oman’s coastline.
According to officials familiar with the talks, the IRGC views control of the Strait of Hormuz as more valuable than the release of frozen assets. Iranian officials have discussed creating a system to charge transit fees for ships passing through the strait, which they privately estimate could generate as much as $40 billion annually.
The Revolutionary Guard demonstrated its willingness to jeopardize the negotiations by attacking ships using the U.S.-backed shipping corridor near Oman. One of the vessels struck last week was reportedly carrying two million barrels of Qatari oil, signaling the IRGC was prepared to risk the collapse of the peace process if its demands were not met.
The U.S. responded by striking Iranian naval facilities involved in attacks on commercial shipping. Although both sides later agreed to halt hostilities and resume negotiations, the Revolutionary Guard renewed its threats, contributing to a sharp decline in commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The dispute has exposed deep divisions within Iran’s leadership. While Pezeshkian has been focused on securing the release of frozen funds and advancing the agreement, influential Revolutionary Guard figures and senior clerics have backed a harder line, arguing that maintaining leverage over the Strait of Hormuz is more important than gaining access to the frozen assets.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
