PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 20th, 2026: Iran's Government Is Tearing Itself Apart & China's Maritime Escalation

**Mike Baker** (0:12)
It's Monday, the 20th of July. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Iran's government is reportedly facing a growing internal revolt as hardliners accuse President Masoud Pezeshkian of betraying the Islamic Republic. The hardliners are reportedly demanding a return to war with the United States. But to be honest, if you don't call the current situation a war, I'm not sure what you call it. Later in the show, Taiwan is sounding the alarm after a surge in Chinese Coast Guard and research vessels around the island raises new concerns about Beijing's ambitions in the Pacific. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The war with Iran has claimed another American life. According to reports, a US service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation involving a downed Iranian attack drone. According to US Central Command, the service member was helping dispose of unexploded ordnance recovered from the drone. A second American serviceman was wounded in the incident and is now receiving medical treatment. The Pentagon has not yet publicly identified either of the troops involved. The death adds to what has already been one of the deadliest weeks for American forces since the war began. As we reported this morning, two other US service members were killed Friday while defending an American position in Jordan from an Iranian missile and drone attack. And while American troops continue facing the consequences of Iran's campaign across the region, another conflict is supposedly unfolding inside the regime. Although reporting is somewhat thin when it comes to the machinations and goings on inside the Iranian leadership. According to new reporting, though, from CNN, Iran's most radical factions are now openly turning against President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials, accusing them of betraying the Islamic Republic by negotiating with the Trump administration. The anger erupted into public view during the long-delayed funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed, of course, in the opening American and Israeli strikes against Iran back in February. As Pezeshkian walked alongside Khamenei's coffin, some of the black-clad mourners surrounding him began chanting, quote, Death to the Compromiser.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi received an even more violent reception. Araqchi helped negotiate the agreement, of course, with Washington that briefly sort of reopened the Strait of Hormuz and provided Iran with limited sanctions relief. Now as an aside, it's currently estimated that during the easing of the US blockade and sanctions, Iran was able to move some $6 billion US dollars' worth of oil and importantly were able to free up some of their storage capacity.
Now, when Araghchi appeared at the funeral, a mob reportedly pelted him with rocks while chanting that he was a traitor and a sellout. He was ultimately forced to flee the gathering. The confrontation reflects a theory that's been spreading among Iran's ultra hardliners. Of course, it's a theory possibly being spread by the hardliners, that the political leadership is using the war and the continued disappearance of Iran's new supreme leader to carry out what they describe as a political coup. At the center of the mystery, of course, is Mushtaba Khamenei, the late supreme leader's son and successor. Mushtaba has remained entirely hidden from public view. He did not appear at his father's funeral, has not addressed the Iranian people directly, and has not visibly asserted his authority over the officials negotiating and fighting in his name. That absence has left President Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Arakji, and Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bakr Ghalibov as most visible faces of Iran's post-war leadership. However, it is debatable as to how much influence they actually exert, particularly over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC leadership. Nonetheless, Iran's most radical lawmakers may believe that those men, the political leaders, are attempting to consolidate power while sidelining both the supreme leader and the parliament. One hardline legislator recently asked his supporters, is a coup on the way.
Others claim the government is elevating Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which has taken control over some of the country's most sensitive wartime decisions, while weakening the authority of the clerical leadership. Now, all evidence to date points to that being true, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has assumed control over decision making. IRGC commanders are key members of the Security Council and typically hold the key positions on that council.
And as an indication of the IRGC's grip on the regime, some reporting indicates that the written statements that have been attributed to Mostaba Khamenei have actually been written by IRGC leadership.
Now, there's no clear evidence that Pezeshkian or his allies are attempting to overthrow Khamenei, nor is there any evidence that suggests they could somehow supplant the IRGC leadership. Pezeshkian and his allies have, according to a number of reports, been marginalized during the course of the conflict. In fact, if I was a cynical person, I would attribute the coup rumors to an IRGC disinformation campaign designed to further cement the IRGC's position. But that would just be me being cynical. The hardliners believe the agreement with Washington amounted to surrender. Instead of negotiating sanctions relief, they want Iran to avenge Ali Khamenei's death and resume an unrestricted war against the US and Israel. Some are now threatening Iranian officials directly. During a recent ceremony, a regime-linked religious singer warned President Pezeshkian, if the leader's conditions are not fulfilled, then it will be us, the blade and your throat. He then promised to bring hell upon the president. The public death threat was widely criticized inside Iran, but the man who made it is not known to have faced any legal consequences. Other hardliners are openly proposing attacks on American troops. Former Iranian Foreign Minister Manushar Mottaki suggested during a televised interview that Iranian forces should raid a US base somewhere in the region, capture 100 American service members, and bring them back to Iran.