The flip—from touting a procedural pathway in Cairo to pausing it in Tehran—captures the regime’s internal tug-of-war as the snapback clock runs down. National Security Committee member Behnam Saeedi argued that with snapback moving ahead, “there is no reason to implement the IAEA understanding,” adding that NPT exit is on the table. By September 20, the SNSC said the European move toward snapback meant the cooperation path is suspended. Parliament’s National Security spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei followed on September 20–21, declaring Cairo “destroyed,” urging abandonment of all JCPOA limits, and calling for the redesign of the Arak 40-MW reactor and new generations of centrifuges. As the snapback deadline approaches, the regime’s contradictions are colliding with a fragile economy and a restive society.