TEHRAN, Iran — When parliament speaker Ali Larijani was attacked with prayer stones and shoes in the city of Qom on Feb. 10, a powerful figure with ties in the upper echelon of power in the Islamic Republic of Iran seemed truly vulnerable for the first time. Larijani, who has been the speaker of parliament for the last six years, has also presided over the powerful Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, served as the minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and as the interim commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Larijani’s experience and political clout made him appear invincible. However, when he was insulted and attacked at the 35th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran during his speech at the shrine of Masumah, his public humiliation received wide coverage in both domestic and foreign press.

Exactly one week before this incident, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad broadcast on the parliament floor a tape of Larijani’s younger brother bribing the head of the Social Security Agency. The closeness of the two events led many to believe that Ahmadinejad’s supporters were behind the public attack on Larijani in Qom.

However, a special report by the National Security Commission in parliament revealed that other, hidden hands may have been behind Larijani’s public disgrace and that divisions within the Islamic Republic run very deep, a troubling sign for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who expects President Hassan Rouhani to solve Iran’s factional fighting.