US President Donald Trump has hinted at a power struggle and leadership vacuum in Iran as the reason for delays in the ongoing peace talks. For weeks, signs have suggested that hardliners in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and moderates in the government are at odds over the direction of the war. With the lack of consensus projecting disunity, it remains to be seen how Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei will rein in factionalism.

