Tehran split: Iran’s speaker admits economic vulnerability as hardliners accuse him of signalling weakness

Iran Parliament Speaker warns ‘we will not endure’ as Trump prepares ‘toughest sanctions in history.’

Iran International is reporting that Iran’s parliament speaker has triggered an internal political storm after openly acknowledging that economic weakness could bring down the Islamic Republic — a rare admission that has split Tehran’s leadership and drawn fierce criticism from hardliners who say it hands Washington a psychological victory.

Speaking at a meeting with Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned: “No matter how much military power we have, if people are hungry and we do not have financial circulation and economic growth, we will not endure.” He called for strategic planning to confront what he described as unjust sanctions.

The remarks came as the Trump administration prepares what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran — combining existing measures with an unprecedented campaign aimed at achieving what Bessent called “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world,” including pressure on China.

Hardline commentators reacted angrily. Former state television presenter Masoud Barati accused Ghalibaf of conveying “a message of weakness” that reinforced the image of a vulnerable Iran and encouraged further pressure. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, condemned the sanctions as evidence of America’s “anti-human, lawless and hegemonic nature,” while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed “Economic D-Day” as a diversion from America’s own fiscal crisis. Friday prayer leaders across Iran rallied against the US pressure campaign, with one leader in Sari vowing Iran would hold America “by the throat” until US military forces were destroyed.