The latest controversy sparked by Mohammad Baqer Kharrazi, Secretary-General of the “Hezbollah of Iran” organization, lasted less than 24 hours. Kharrazi had claimed that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offered his resignation 28 times, alleging a specific reaction from Mojtaba Khamenei.
While the office of the Supreme Leader’s son dismissed the narrative as “entirely false” and Pezeshkian called it “an attempt to create division within the establishment,” Kharrazi did not back down. In a follow-up statement, while implicitly acknowledging the denial, he wrote that he hoped the rejection would hold firm following “important future changes” within Mojtaba Khamenei’s office.
This is not the first time the Qom-born cleric and former managing editor of the Hezbollah newspaper has generated headlines blurring the lines between politics, ideology, and absurdity.
From Manchester to “Kheybar United”
Nineteen years ago, on August 8, 2007, Kharrazi claimed that his organization was in the process of purchasing the English football giant Manchester United. He declared that, upon completing the acquisition, he intended to rename the club “Kheybar.”
