Kalipauf, Araghi, what's our leader's blood debt? "Araghi, there's a bit of shame, let this country go."
On the 14th, sources in Iran revealed that Pakistan will host a video conference where representatives from Iran and the United States will attend and sign the agreement. However, there is also growing opposition to the negotiations within Iran.
On June 13th local time, hard-line Iranian figures held a rally, chanting opposition to Iran's Islamic Parliament Speaker, Kalibaf, and the Iranian delegation leader in US negotiations, as well as Iran's Foreign Minister Aghaoli.
According to reports from Iran International Television and Phoenix TV, at a rally in Tehran, the Iranian capital, on June 13 local time, hard-line protesters accused the Iranian negotiation team of acting without the permission of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They also pointed out that Ayatollah Khamenei remained silent during the negotiations, indicating his disapproval of the actions taken by the negotiation team.
At 9:30 p.m. local time on the 13th, there were still many people gathered in Tehran’s Revolution Square. They held up national flags and portraits of their leader, along with many slogans opposing negotiations. Some of the slogans read “Reformists are equal to surrenderers,” while others called for people not to place their hopes in the enemy. Some also shouted slogans against the United States, demanding that the government not make concessions to the US.
A person from Tehran said, "I believe that there should be no compromise or negotiations before the leader takes revenge."
Many protesters believe that the United States has repeatedly broken its promises and cannot be trusted. They say that even if negotiations are accepted, they must be based on the conditions set by Iran’s supreme leader, including recognizing Iran’s rights, ensuring national security, and addressing the public's feelings regarding war casualties.
According to Iranian international television reports, a video released by a media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps showed that a rally was held outside the Foreign Ministry office in Mashhad on the evening of June 13. Protesters chanted: "Down with Al-Aragchi—the shameless compromiser and infiltrator."
For several days, Iran's hardliners have been criticizing the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the negotiation team, accusing them of making too many concessions to the United States in the agreement.
Israeli television channel i24NEWS pointed out that this opposition occurred after Iran's hard-line faction has been demanding a more confrontational nuclear stance for several months. Media reports in early 2026 mentioned that Iran's hard-liners have long threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This idea has become increasingly prominent in Iranian official media, along with calls for Iran to pursue nuclear weapons.
In early 2026, the Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, published an article stating that Iran should withdraw from the NPT as soon as possible while retaining its civilian nuclear program. Official media cited Mohammad Javad Larijani, a hard-line Iranian politician, saying that Iran should suspend its obligations under the NPT.
Larry Jani said, “The membership of the NPT should be suspended. We should establish a special committee to assess whether this treaty is actually useful to us. If it proves to be useful, we will return to the treaty; if not, then they can keep it themselves.”
The media also reported that nuclear policy issues have become a topic of private discussion within Iran's ruling circle. Hardliners, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other officials in the political leadership, disagree on what course Iran should take.
During negotiations with the West that lasted for over twenty years, Iranian officials threatened several times to reconsider their membership in the NPT, but they never actually carried out such threats.
On June 13th, CNN reported that the US military had urgently prepared for a ground operation to seize Iran's enriched uranium, but this plan was halted by U.S. President Trump.
Three people familiar with the situation indicated that if the US-Iran negotiations collapse and war breaks out again, Iran is prepared to implement an economic ‘nuclear strike’ measure—forcing its main ally in Yemen, the Houthi forces, to blockade the Strait of Mandeb.
The Strait of Mandeb is a strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It serves as a “gateway” to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian Oceans, and is known as the “waterway” connecting the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The importance of the Strait of Mandeb becomes even more apparent when Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz.
According to reports, US intelligence assessments warn that if the US military launches ground operations to obtain enriched uranium and the economic damage caused by the closure of the Maldives Strait could be catastrophic for the global economy.
