It appears that Iran has not only implemented a Continuity of Government protocol, but something that bears similarity to Jon Herold's Devolution Theory.

Back in early August, in response to the 12-Day War, Iranian media--quoting the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council—that the leadership had approved the establishment of the National Defense Council within the framework of Article 176 of the Iranian Constitution.

A report from September stated: "Iranian Deputy Interior Minister for Security and Law Enforcement and National Security Council (NSC) Secretary Ali Akbar Pour Jamshidian stated on September 27 that the Supreme National Security Council (SCNC) had directed all Iranian military and civilian officials to designate several successors to ensure continuity of governance in the event of leadership disruption."

Other reports from Iranian media around this time advised that there could be structural changes to the Supreme National Security Council, with a focus on the "separation of defense and security affairs from each other." The report emphasized that efforts were being to rebuild the intelligence and security institutions.

The Financial Times of London is now reporting on these developments, affirming that President Pezeshkian has "devolved" the authority of the central government to the governors of the 31 provinces that make up the country, permitting them to pursue "imports without foreign currency" through unconventional trade methods (such as bartering) and allowing them to bypass normal bureaucratic procedures.

We now have a pattern emerging of President Trump ostensibly picking fights with countries that then implement COG protocols in order to thwart regime change insurgency operations, suggesting that the target countries are actually working with Trump behind the scenes.

https://archive.ph/K1DaJ

https://iranintl.com/fa/202508039930

https://criticalthreats.org/analysis/iran-updates-september-2025

https://x.com/GhostofBPH/status/2016413411416920271?s=20