Cracks Appear In Mojtaba Khamenei's Regime: Iran MP Accuses Ghalibaf Of Shielding FM Araghchi

Last Updated:July 11, 2026, 17:13 IST

Iranian MP Hamid Rasaei accused Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf of protecting Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from parliamentary questioning during the war with the US.

Signs of infighting under Mojtaba Khamenei’s rule have intensified after a hardline Iranian lawmaker questioned Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s role in the ongoing US-Iran conflict, alleging that Iran’s parliament had held no oversight session on the conflict.

Iranian MP Hamid Rasaei accused Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of Tehran’s key negotiators and the diplomatic face of the Iranian campaign, of preventing Araghchi from answering questions from lawmakers during over four months of war, ceasefire and negotiations, according to a report by Iran International.

In a Telegram post, Rasaei accused Ghalibaf of keeping the parliament out of session for over 4.5 months and not allowing Araghchi to face even half an hour of questioning. Citing a US Congressional hearing involving Democratic Representative Seth Moulton and CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, Rasaei argued that Iran did not hold an oversight session on Tehran’s actions during the conflict.

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Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, also alleged that Iran’s negotiations have benefitted its enemies. “The record of negotiations has always ended with broken promises, deception and benefits for the enemy, leaving only a bitter experience," he said on X.

Hardliners At Odds With Tehran’s Strategy

Rasaei’s remarks marked another chapter in ongoing tensions between the Iranian government led by Masoud Pezeshkian and the hardliners in the Islamic Republic.

Last month, hardline factions in Iran publicly called for the resignations of both Ghalibaf and Araghchi, accusing them of offering too many concessions to the US during negotiations. An earlier report by Iran International claimed top Iranian officials were seeking to oust Araghchi over his close alignment with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief’s stance.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had reportedly accused the top diplomat of sidelining him and had threatened to fire him amid serious disagreements among Iran’s top officials regarding the positions taken in talks with the US to end the war.

While Pezeshkian has been considered a moderate Iranian president, the elevation of Mojtaba Khamenei suggested a hardline push in Iran, with clerics and the IRGC consolidating power in the aftermath of the conflict with Iran, which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in February. This power dynamic has created friction between the IRGC and Pezeshkian.

Ghalibaf and Araghchi have emerged as one of the country’s key strategic decision-makers during the conflict. They both represented Tehran during high-stakes negotiations with the United States, while maintaining a hardline stance that Iran would not surrender under Washington’s pressure. Araghchi maintained diplomatic communications with mediators and foreign governments and rallied them against coercive US pressure for the entirety of the conflict.

About the Author

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int...Read More

News world Cracks Appear In Mojtaba Khamenei's Regime: Iran MP Accuses Ghalibaf Of Shielding FM Araghchi

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