Iran International
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi could be on shaky ground, with reformists pressing for his replacement by former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, according to a prominent conservative commentator in Tehran.
Nasser Imani, a longtime contributor to the Supreme Leader-funded Kayhan newspaper, also hinted that Araghchi’s recent overtures on negotiations with the United States have received tacit approval from supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran is in a tough spot, with the resumption of UN sanctions triggered by European powers weeks away barring an unlikely diplomatic breakthrough.
“Hardliners in Iran are constantly threatening to impeach Araghchi and put former President Hassan Rouhani on trial … while reformists are pressuring the government to replace Araghchi with Salehi,” moderate outlet Khabar Online quoted Imani as saying on September 16.
“When the Foreign Ministry is weakened, the shop window is broken,” he warned. “Everyone knows this—especially those gentlemen attacking Mr. Araghchi for wanting to negotiate with the Americans and the IAEA.
They know that the Foreign Ministry team and the government act in full coordination with the entirety of the governance.”
The phrase “entirety of the governance” is widely read as a euphemism for Khamenei himself—perhaps the first time a conservative insider has publicly suggested the Supreme Leader’s approval for talks with Washington.
Araghchi facing fire
Imani’s remarks appear designed to shield Iran’s top diplomat from hardliner attacks.
Araghchi, a graduate of Imam Sadeq University, has come under mounting pressure from hardliners, particularly in parliament, for his agreement with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on nuclear cooperation.
The deal sparked fierce backlash, with some MPs accusing him of defying legislation mandating withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Ultraconservatives such as Hamid Rasai have even threatened to impeach him.
Araghchi, summoned to parliament, has tried to balance hardliner demands with what he frames as national interests, denying he had broken the law while still permitting IAEA access.
Salehi, by contrast, is a US-educated nuclear expert and MIT alumnus who remains a trusted Khamenei confidant despite his reformist leanings.
In the early 2010s, Khamenei tasked him with running a backchannel to Washington, separate from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Foreign Ministry, a track that ultimately paved the way for the 2015 nuclear deal.
Calls for talks with US
But Iran’s leadership may face even greater trouble abroad if it fails to strike a quick understanding.
Pressure is now mounting from Europe, where foreign ministers have tied continued sanctions relief to concrete steps on the nuclear file, warning that sanctions would be reimposed if Tehran fails to act in the coming days.
At home, moderates weary of the impasse are voicing impatience with the endless brinkmanship.
Former diplomat Javid Ghorbanoghlou urged readiness for “comprehensive negotiations with America,” while analyst Morteza Makki wrote in reformist daily Etemad that Tehran has decided to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog and that opposition from radicals had little bearing on key decisions.
He pointed out that both Araghchi’s meeting with parliament’s National Security Committee and a statement by the Supreme National Security Council confirmed the IAEA deal fell within the SNSC’s nuclear committee framework.
