Iran International
Amid deteriorating ties with Europe and the looming threat of another war with Israel, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian is under mounting attack from Tehran’s hardliners, who question both his competence and his political judgment.
Leading ultraconservative cleric and MP Hamid Rasai, pushing for a parliamentary probe into the president’s performance, seized on Pezeshkian’s recent comments about the Zangezur corridor and his remark that Iran has no choice but to negotiate with the United States.
“Critics say raising the issue of Pezeshkian’s political inadequacy in the midst of two wars is against expediency!” he wrote on X on August 13.
“The session that led to the disqualification and ousting of Iran’s first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was also held during the 1980s war with Iraq.”
Rasai, who believes another confrontation with Israel is imminent, argued that while Pezeshkian is “not a traitor like Banisadr,” he is “ignorant of his responsibilities” and equally damaging to the system. “If he doesn’t take the initiative himself,” Rasai added, “let’s not deceive ourselves.”
Some social media users urged Rasai to voice such criticisms in parliament rather than online, while others attacked his own legitimacy, noting he was elected with just 4% of the vote compared with the far higher turnouts of MPs who impeached Banisadr.
Moderates join the fray
Even figures from Iran’s moderate camp are voicing disillusionment.
Ali Mohammad Namazi told conservative outlet Nameh News that Pezeshkian had failed to deliver on his 2024 campaign pledge to lift sanctions, re-engage with the world, and revive the economy.
Namazi said the president’s promise to form an active government from across the political spectrum instead produced “a cabinet of mediocre ministers” with “no outstanding economic or political figures.”
He added that industrial activity had stalled under budget constraints, energy and water shortages, and a lack of investment — leaving households waiting for sanctions relief to meet basic needs.
“Pezeshkian’s most important political promise was to hold talks with the West to lift sanctions and boost oil revenues,” Namazi said. “Not only did that not materialize, but even the negotiations expected to bear fruit within two months were halted following a damning IAEA report and a resolution tabled by Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.”
A systemic crisis
The intensifying criticism — from across Iran’s political spectrum — comes as the country faces the possible snapback of all UN sanctions, a blow that could sever its economic lifeline.
Hardliners like Rasai frame the moment as a prelude to war; moderates like Namazi see a presidency adrift.
For many Iranians online, however, the attacks only underline a deeper reality: the country’s troubles lie in a rigid political system that no president alone can fix.
In an August 12 video, the Israeli prime minister cited President Masoud Pezeshkian’s own admission of deep crises to assert that Iranians don’t even have clean water to give to their children.
He pledged that once people toppled the Islamic Republic and Iran was “free,” Israeli water experts would go to “every city” with desalination and recycling technology.
Reactions: from praise to scorn
Thousands of Iranians reacted on X and other platforms. Supporters called Israel “the true friend of the Iranian people” and urged others to heed Netanyahu’s call.
Others interpreted the message as a signal of another imminent Israeli strike.
“These consecutive messages from the Israelis … carry an important warning,” one user wrote. “The Iranian people are very close to a second round of attacks. It’s better for you to take to the streets so that the cost for both us and you will be lower.”
Some even urged further Israeli action.
“We still need your help. Target the remaining leaders of the regime so that overthrowing it becomes easier for the people,” read another comment.
But many doubted the call would have any effect.
“As someone in Tehran, I must say that there is no way people will take to the streets,” one user posted. “They have no hope, and what you’re saying is not feasible before Khamenei and [his son] Mojtaba are declared dead.”
Criticism of the messenger
Others went further, turning their fire on Netanyahu himself.
“Contrary to Netanyahu’s false claim, the water Israelis drink in abundance is not the product of Israeli technology; it is water denied to the Palestinians,” lawyer Reza Nasri posted.
Some referenced alleged Israeli strikes on water infrastructure during the 12-day conflict.
“Khomeini came with promises of free water and electricity and delivered rooftop executions,” activist Amir Ebrahimi wrote.
“Netanyahu talks of providing water, and the result of his promise was the bombing of the main Tajrish water pipeline and the killing of people. Criminal dictators and charlatans share the same principles.”
Officials and state media push back
Top political and security figures, including Pezeshkian, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, dismissed or mocked the message.
State TV aired a vox-pop segment, mixing genuine and staged interviews, ridiculing Netanyahu’s claim that Iranians could water-ski again in the Karaj Dam if the Islamic Republic fell.
The dam, once a popular recreation site, is now almost dry.
‘Root cause’
Criticism also came from those outside the government, including activists who oppose Tehran’s rule but saw Netanyahu’s comments as misleading or self-serving.
These voices sought to shift the conversation from Israel’s role to Iran’s own governance failures.
“Netanyahu spoke of desalination… these plants were built entirely by Iranian private companies,” environmental activist Reza Karimi wrote on X alongside images of two desalination plants in southern Iran.
“Our problem with water is not technology. We are exporters of water engineering projects. Our problem is poor water governance.”