Iranian officials who push for negotiations with the United States risk being labeled traitors and “most likely eliminated,” a policy expert said, as internal fault lines emerge within Iran’s new regime.
Hooshang Amirahmadichairman of the American Iranian Council, said moderates who advocate engagement with Washington are increasingly vulnerable at a time when the Trump administration says it is in contact with elements of a “new” leadership.
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Amirahmadi’s warning came as Washington also appears to be enduring internal “fractures” amid the ongoing conflict.
President Donald Trump said Monday that the US is in serious talks with a “new” and “more reasonable” regime in Iran as the war enters its fifth week, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to say who exactly the US is negotiating with, but cited “rifts.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister (not pictured) in Munich on February 13, 2026, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. (Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
“Well, I’m not going to reveal to you who those people are because it would probably get them in trouble with some other groups of people inside Iran. Look, there are some rifts there internally,” Rubio said.Good morning America.”
“Anyone in Iran who talks about negotiation is suspected of preparing the way for more war and destruction,” Amirahmadi said before declaring that moderate reformers are seen as “infiltrators and traitors.”
Amirahmadi also confirmed Rubio’s comments, highlighting an internal struggle within Tehran’s power structure, where remnants of what he called the “old regime” or Khamenei-era system still exist.
“Many of them support negotiations or a ceasefire. But the emerging new regime consists of more hardline elements and views the others as traitors,” he said.
“There has long been a serious divide – what we call a divide – between the hardliners or radicals and the moderates or reformists.”
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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf attends a press conference in a conference hall in the Iranian Parliament Building in Tehran, Iran, December 2, 2025. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Amirahmadi also described that “assassination in the Islamic Republic is not a new phenomenon. It has been around for a long time.”
Speaking before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Amirahmadi said Tuesday that Washington remains steadfast in reaching an agreement to end the months-long conflict involving the US, Israel and the Islamic Republic.
At a news conference, Hegseth reiterated that Trump is willing to make a deal to end the war, adding that the new regime is now in place.
“If Iran is smart, it will make a deal. The new Iranian regime should already know that. This new regime, which has undergone regime change, should be smarter than the last one. President Trump is not bluffing and will not back down. He will make a deal, he is willing and the terms of the deal are known to them,” Hegseth said.
“The field and the war are in the hands of the radical colonels, and that is what matters at the moment,” Amirahmadi added.
“The established bureaucracy is still led by the same old moderate regime, but it is not a new regime. The new regime is certainly more radical.”
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The Iranian power structure is increasingly dominated by IRGC figures such as Ahmad Vahidi (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Since the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the succession of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, the regime appears to have become more dependent on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran’s power structure is increasingly dominated by IRGC figures such as Ahmad Vahidi and Qods Force chief Esmail Qaani, in addition to judicial figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei.
While President Masoud Pezeshkian’s influence could have waned, figures like Saeed Jalili, Guardian Council insider Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi continue to shape Iran’s security posture.
“There are actually the colonels; there are the Revolutionary Guards, people who are in the military. Some non-military hardliners are in universities, in government and in places,” Amirahmadi added.
“They have turned the regime into a very radical one,” Amirahmadi warned, “I don’t even think Khamenei’s son would be in favor of negotiating, at least initially.
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“His position and condition are not entirely clear. His leadership seems symbolic – a reaction, even a gesture against figures like Trump.
“Trump and Netanyahu wanted regime change, and they have already achieved that, but the regime has only become more radical,” Amirahmadi concluded.
