Opposition Groups Claim Iran Uses Khamenei Imagery to Conceal Divisions Within IRGC

In a move to project power and bolster a military facing challenges, Iran’s regime released carefully staged images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to opposition groups operating outside of Iran.

The photos, distributed by Iranian state media on January 31, depicted Khamenei’s first public sighting in weeks, as he was seen praying at the tomb of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This coincides with new threats issued by the regime against the U.S. and Europe.

Ali Safavi, a prominent member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, suggested that these images were less about public reassurance and more about rallying the regime’s flagging security forces.

“The images of Ali Khamenei were pure propaganda,” Safavi explained to Fox News Digital. “He aimed to present a façade of fearlessness in the face of death while simultaneously attempting to uplift the spirits of his dispirited troops.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei made his first public appearance in weeks, accompanied by renewed threats towards the U.S. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader Credit/Associated Press)

Safavi said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains the backbone of the regime’s power but is showing signs of strain after weeks of suppressing nationwide protests.

“These images are intended to project strength and shore up the repressive forces,” he said. “But underneath, the regime is reeling from the reality that its criminal clique cannot break the will of the people and Khamenei knows the situation will never return to what it was before Dec. 28.”

The release of the photos coincided with calls from the European Parliament to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

The supreme leader attended prayers at the founder’s tomb as officials issued fresh threats against the U.S. and Europe, opposition groups said. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Associated Press)

“The IRGC is the backbone of this regime,” Safavi said. “Its disintegration can only occur after a fundamental shift in the balance of forces and with the presence of organized resistance on the ground. Only then do defections at lower levels of the military become meaningful.”

Tehran reacted angrily to the European move with Iranian lawmakers appearing in IRGC uniforms in a highly choreographed show of solidarity, according to reports.

A banner reading, “The Revolutionary Guard is the largest anti-terrorism organization in the world,” was displayed at the speaker’s podium, and the IRGC flag was prominently featured, according to the Times of Israel.

Iranian regime projects strength through staged images of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at prayers, opposition groups say. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/Associated Press)

“We saw the same thing when the U.S. designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization in 2019,” Safavi said.

“More than half of these lawmakers are former IRGC commanders,” he added. “The IRGC dominates Iran’s economy and permeates the executive, legislative and judicial branches, as well as educational institutions.”

After the U.S. dispatched a naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, Khamenei also warned Sunday in comments reported by Iranian state media that any military action would trigger a wider regional conflict.

“We are not the ones who start a war,” Khamenei said . “But if America attacks or harms Iran, the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow — and any war started by America will spread across the region,” he said per reports.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that if Iran does not reach a deal on its nuclear program, “we’ll find out” whether Khamenei’s warning proves correct.

“Doing business with Iran means doing business with the IRGC,” Safavi said. “The IRGC is the regime — even the clerics.”