Days after Iran’s leadership projected a unified front, undermining the long-cited moderate-vs.-hardliner divide, President Donald Trump canceled planned talks with Tehran in Islamabad, Pakistan, citing “infighting and confusion” inside the regime.

Iranian-American experts argue that social media posts from Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other key officials reveal that the “good cop, bad cop” tactic that the regime exploited to deceive adversaries and secure generous concessions in nuclear negotiations has collapsed.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump announced he canceled the trip, citing “too much time wasted on traveling” and “too much work!”

“Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,'” the president added, noting “nobody knows who is in charge, including them.”

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“Also, we have all the cards, they have none!” Trump wrote. “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”

The implosion of the hardline-moderate dichotomy within the regime could have profound consequences for Trump’s approach to the atomic talks in Islamabad, experts said. Trump appeared to allude to a blurry divide between factions within Iran last week.

“Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), and it is CRAZY!” Trump wrote in an X post Thursday.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei quickly fired back, claiming “due to the strange unity created among compatriots, a fracture has occurred in the enemy.”

“With practical gratitude for this blessing, cohesion has become even greater and more steel-like, and the enemies will become more wretched and diminished,” Khamenei wrote in a reply. “The enemy’s media operations, by targeting the minds and psyches of the people, intend to undermine national unity and security; may our negligence not allow this sinister intent to come to fruition.”

Mariam Memarsadeghi, a senior fellow at The Macdonald-Laurier Institute and founder and director of the Cyrus Forum for Iran’s Future, told Fox News Digital the Islamic Republic has, for decades, fooled Western policymakers by sending moderates to negotiations as a “window dressing for its terror and subjugation.”

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The officials would then tell their counterparts that they are under pressure from hardliners, implying that the West must make concessions to strengthen them internally.

“Because of the war, the Trump administration is in a remarkably advantageous situation vis-à-vis the imperial terror state, one never before attempted, much less achieved,” Memarsadeghi said. “But every time Trump says regime change has already happened, he denies America the opportunity to finally, truly be rid of the world’s top sponsor of terror and the existential threat it poses not just to the people of Iran but to all the world.”

Navid Mohebbi, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department’s Public Affairs Bureau, cautioned that while rivalries and factions do exist within the Islamic Republic, they are united on the regime’s core principles.

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“Their disagreements are primarily over tactics, not fundamental direction,” Mohebbi told Fox News Digital, stressing that real decision-making power in Iran has always rested with the supreme leader and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“So-called moderates have never had the final say on key strategic issues and are often used to soften the regime’s image abroad,” he said. “From the perspective of the Iranian people, there has been little difference. Across administrations labeled ‘moderate’ or ‘hardline,’ the system has consistently relied on repression.”

Mohebbi cited the example of Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani, who presented himself as a moderate, but whose security forces violently killed 1,500 protesters during the November 2019 uprising.

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“The same pattern has continued under Masoud Pezeshkian in the January 2026 protest massacre, reinforcing the reality that these labels have not translated into meaningful change on the ground,” he said.

A regional official, however, insisted there are clashes between moderates and hardliners in Iran. The official told Fox News Digital that Pezeshkian is a moderate, but he “could not even make good on his campaign promise regarding internet freedom. To be honest, he’s not even been able to do s—.”

“The joint reaction by the heads of the three branches of power was in response to Trump’s reference to the issue of rift, and also to the fact that there are indeed hardliners and moderates,” the official added. “Look, whenever Iran wants to make concessions, they throw moderates under the bus so that the moderates make a deal, and then, the hardliners blame them for the same concessions all of them had agreed to make.”

Lawdan Bazargan, who was imprisoned by the Islamic Republic in the 1980s for her political dissident activities, told Fox News Digital that what officials are seeing now is not the disappearance of the divide, but the exposure of what that divide actually was.

“In reality, all of these figures — Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf [speaker of Iran’s parliament], Saeed Jalili [member of the Expediency Discernment Council], Pezeshkian, Ahmad Vahidi [head of the IRGC], Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei [head of Iran’s judiciary] — operate within the same ideological framework,” Bazargan said. “They are all committed to the preservation of the system, the projection of power in the region, and confrontation with what they define as ‘the forces of evil,’ namely the United States and Israel.”

The 2026 Stagecoach Music Festival is taking place this weekend in Indio, Calif., bringing together country music’s biggest fans at what sure looks to my eyes like Coachella with a cowboy hat.

Oh, and also Post Malone is headlining. Nothing wrong with that, it just seems out of place.

Anyway, one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend belonged to Ella Langley.

The country songstress has become a massive star (and a certified OutKick fan-favorite), and so a lot of people were looking forward to her debut at the festival.

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That came late Friday afternoon, and Langley had a trick up her sleeve.

The prevailing thought was that she’d bring out a special guest, but that the guest would be country megastar Morgan Wallen, who would join her for her new tune “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” in which he is featured.

However, according to Rolling Stone, she threw the crowd a changeup by going into her song “You Look Like You Love Me,” which originally featured country singer Riley Green.

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Not this time, though.

Instead, comedian and podcaster — complete with a cowboy hat — Theo Von came out onstage to join her.

It sure seemed to me like the crowd absolutely ate that up.

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Langley was a guest on Von’s podcast recently, and maybe that’s when they cooked this up.

Plus, this seems to be the move into the social media era. You do a set at a festival, you bring someone up on-stage with you, and the internet goes nuts over it.

We saw this from Sabrina Carpenter at the aforementioned Coachella, where she had Will Ferrell doing bits, Madonna singing with her and Susan Sarandon doing… whatever it was she did, I honestly can’t remember.

But that was a really cool moment, and I get the sense we can expect more of that from Langley in the years to come.

The 2026 NFL Draft, like any other, ignited mixed emotions among fans.

Broadcasts and social media erupted in debate over several topics, while controversies overshadowed the event for some this year.

Here is all the biggest drama that came out of the 2026 NFL Draft:

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Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel left his team on Day 3 of the draft this year, as he turned his attention toward his family after several scandalous photos of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini leaked in recent weeks.

Vrabel and the Patriots announced he would be stepping away from the team early on Thursday morning, and just hours later a photo that showed Vrabel and Russini kissing was published by The New York Post.

Vrabel then had a press conference just prior to the start of the first round, amid speculation about his future with the team.

“My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to,” he said at the press conference.

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Vrabel was asked to explain why he initially made a statement calling photos of him and Russini at an Arizona resort “laughable” after they were published by the New York Post earlier in April.

“That’s a private and personal matter. I don’t think that those comments … it was an attempt to protect your family,” Vrabel said.

It was the last question Vrabel answered before storming off the podium and out of the room.

The Patriots then selected Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round, which prompted viral jokes after his draft selection profile video showed him doing a dance.

“This video is gonna go triple platinum when Drake Maye gets sacked for the 5th time in a half,” one user wrote in a caption of an X post of the video of Lomu.

The Giants shocked many when they selected Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese with the No. 5 overall pick.

Some fans and pundits believed the Giants wouldn’t add another linebacker with such a high pick, with several high investments at the position already on the roster. Some fans were even more frustrated when they used the 10th overall pick on offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, passing on hyped safety prospect Caleb Downs. Downs then went 11th to the rival Dallas Cowboys.

Meanwhile, Reese emerged as a topic of debate for other reasons. Stories about how he had a 0.4 GPA in high school, then earned a 3.7 GPA at Ohio State, spread like wildfire on draft night.

“I think the secret is just time and effort,” Reese told CBS Sports. “In high school, it was a time where I didn’t even try in school or didn’t really think school was important. So, it just took for me to just lock in with it and take it serious.”

But then New York sports radio host Craig Carton of WFAN went viral for commenting on Reese’s academic roller coaster.

“How does a kid who had a 0.4 GPA through high school leave Ohio State with a 3.7 GPA?” Carton said. “I’d like to figure that out.”

Reese also went viral for a series of moments interacting with the New York sports media shortly after he was drafted.

During his introductory press conference, Reese earned the praise and fear of fans and pundits for a comment about embracing “violence.”

“Playing defense, you’ve got to be violent. You’ve got to be thinking of doing something violent,” he said.

In another press conference moment, Reese was asked an awkwardly worded question about how he would make an impact for veterans and kids with disabilities.

Reese asked the reporter to repeat the question, then stuttered, before responding, saying “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“Who even asks a rookie a question like this right out of the gate?” one X user wrote in response to a clip of the interaction.

The NFL rolled out a brand-new, shortened pick clock this year, reducing the amount of time teams have to pick from 10 minutes to eight minutes.

However, the decision appeared to garner hefty backlash on social media, especially against ESPN’s broadcast.

Multiple fans complained they couldn’t even scroll X or open their phones without seeing results 3-4 picks ahead. One user wrote: “Personally I liked the 8 minute clock, but it was super annoying the 1st 10 picks that I couldn’t even open my phone without being spoiled 4 picks ahead.”

When the Los Angeles Rams drafted quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, head coach Sean McVay didn’t look thrilled, and he admitted as much on Friday.

McVay, while recapping the second day of the Rams’ draft, opened his press conference acknowledging his demeanor after Simpson’s selection.

“I get my demeanor last night, but we’re excited about it. There are different things. I always want to be mindful of how things come off and things like that. I’m very excited about last night and very excited about today. Couldn’t be more excited about us continuing to lead together, but every decision that we make is collective and collaborative,” McVay said.

“For any of the questions or misunderstandings just based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get that out of the way. This is my buddy right here,” McVay said with a smile as he reached out to general manager Les Snead.

“That was brought to my attention because I got so many texts. That was never my intended way to be able to come off, but sometimes I can be a little grumpy.”

A reporter followed up and asked the 40-year-old coach why he was grumpy.

“Well, there were other things that had nothing to do with that, which that’s normal life,” McVay said.

“The main thing was, I couldn’t be more excited about being able to add him, but also understanding how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you want to always be and to the way things can be interpreted. The demeanor would’ve been stoic by nature because you are excited, but by no means — it is Matthew’s football team.”

The Arizona Cardinals made one of the boldest and most debated selections in this year’s draft, taking running back Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame with the third overall pick. While Love is undeniably talented, the move has Draft Twitter in absolute chaos, with fans, analysts, and scouts calling it everything from “dessert-first strategy” to outright “bad business.”

“Love the player. Hate the pick where it happened. RB in the top 5 should not happen these days,” one X user wrote.

Another user wrote, “I hope the jersey sales are nice because RB Jeremiyah Love will be the worst pick of Round 1. I believe ownership stepped in.”

ESPN reporter Myron Medcalf wrote on X, “I think Jeremiyah Love is an amazing RB. And I still don’t think you can pick a RB in the first round in the current NFL. No. 3 feels like an incredible reach, based on where the game is today and the value at the position in later rounds.”

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