Mashhad, Iran: Fury erupted on Saturday in several Iranian cities as hardline demonstrators vented anger at top diplomat Abbas Araghchi following his televised acknowledgment of a potential peace agreement with the United States.
Dozens of protesters, mostly women clad in black chadors, gathered in front of a foreign ministry office in the north-eastern city of Mashhad, waving red and black flags while shouting fierce anti-diplomat chants. According to video footage circulated by Fars news agency, the crowd roared: “death to dishonourable Araghchi, the infiltrator.”
The unrest marks a sharp escalation in opposition from Iran’s hardline faction toward a peace deal championed by US President Donald Trump and mediated by Pakistan. Critics within Iran argue the proposal fundamentally undermines national interests, particularly by stripping Tehran of its strategic leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. They also contend that Iranian negotiators have already surrendered too much to secure the accord.
In a Friday interview with state television, Araghchi acknowledged the deal’s terms, noting it would eliminate the US naval blockade currently imposed on Iranian ports — a blockade Washington enacted in response to Iran’s own disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi further stated: “The administration of Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before,” adding that the waterway remains one of Iran’s “main instruments of deterrence.”
Beyond Mashhad, unverified videos circulating on social media—though not independently confirmed by AFP—depicted additional protesters outside Tehran’s foreign ministry building. The demonstrators chanted: “Araghchi, resign” and “Ghalibaf, resign,” targeting both the foreign minister and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who serves as the chief negotiator.
Other videos on social media that AFP could not independently verify showed people in front of the foreign ministry building in Tehran chanting “Araghchi, resign” and “Ghalibaf, resign”, in reference to parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Trump and Pakistan on Saturday said the deal to end the war could be signed as early as Sunday, though Tehran was more circumspect regarding the timing.
