Iran's president and parliament speaker are seeking Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s removal, accusing him of following the Revolutionary Guard chief’s instructions in nuclear talks without informing the president, two sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf believe Araghchi has in recent weeks acted less as a cabinet minister tasked with implementing government policy and more as an aide to Ahmad Vahidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the sources said.
According to the sources who are familiar with ongoing discussions between the heads of Iran's executive and legislative branches, Araghchi has acted over the past two weeks without informing Pezeshkian, in full coordination with Vahidi and based on his directives.
The situation has caused deep dissatisfaction for Pezeshkian, who has told people close to him that he will dismiss Araghchi if it continues, the sources said.
Reports of divisions among Islamic Republic officials had previously emerged. On March 28, reports pointed to serious disagreements between Pezeshkian and Vahidi, the Revolutionary Guards commander who is now said to be the most powerful figure in the force.
Informed sources told Iran International at the time that the dispute stemmed from “the handling of the war and its destructive consequences for people’s livelihoods and the country’s economy.”
Three days later, Iran International received reports that Pezeshkian was frustrated at being placed in a “complete political deadlock” and that he had even been stripped of the authority to appoint replacements for government officials killed during the war.
According to that report, Vahidi is said to have explicitly declared that, because of the critical wartime situation, all key and sensitive managerial posts must, until further notice, be directly selected and run by the Revolutionary Guards.
Ghalibaf-led negotiations
On April 27, a group of lawmakers aligned with hardline politician Saeed Jalili declined to sign a parliamentary statement backing Iran’s negotiating team led by Ghalibaf, despite broad support from 261 other MPs.
The statement expressed confidence in the negotiating delegation. However, several prominent hardline figures—including Mahmoud Nabavian, Mohammad Taghi Naqadali, Morteza Aghatehrani, Amirhossein Sabeti, Hamid Rasaei, Ruhollah Izadkhah and Meysam Zohourian—did not sign the statement.
Nabavian was one of the members of the Iranian delegation led by Ghalibaf who attended the first round of Islamabad talks with the United States.
Three days before the statement was published, Iran International reported, citing informed sources in Iran, that Ghalibaf had resigned as head of Iran's negotiating team after being reprimanded over efforts to include the nuclear energy issue in talks.
That report said Araghchi, ahead of his latest trip to Pakistan to deliver the Islamic Republic’s message to Pakistani officials, was seeking to take over leadership of the negotiations following Ghalibaf’s departure.
Araghchi finally visited Islamabad on April 24 alone and handed over Tehran's proposal, which was later rejected by the US president, according to media reports.
