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Dozens of people staged a demonstration outside a foreign ministry office in Iran's north-eastern city of Mashhad, shouting slogans against top diplomat Abbas Araghchi following a televised interview concerning a potential peace agreement with the United States.
A video shared by the Fars news agency showed women clad in black chadors waving red and black flags while chanting, "Death to dishonourable Araghchi, the infiltrator," in front of the premises on Saturday. The demonstration highlights growing domestic friction as the peace deal faces severe pushback from hardline Iranian political factions. Opponents of the agreement contend that the current terms undermine Tehran's strategic interests and would effectively strip Iran of its leverage over the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz. They have further alleged that Iranian negotiators made too many concessions to secure the deal. This domestic outrage directly follows a broadcast on state television, where Araghchi stated that the proposed agreement includes provisions for dismantling the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, which Washington had instituted following Iran's own blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi noted that "The administration of the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before," while maintaining that the strategic waterway remains one of Iran's "main instruments of deterrence." Fuelling the political fire further, unverified footage circulating on social media networks concurrently depicted similar crowds gathering outside the foreign ministry headquarters in Tehran. Protesters were seen demanding political exits, chanting "Araghchi, resign" and "Ghalibaf, resign," directed at the foreign minister and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also serving as the chief negotiator. While Trump and Pakistani officials stated that the deal aimed at concluding the conflict could be finalised as early as Sunday, authorities in Tehran remained highly cautious about the official timeline. Trump asserted that a framework agreement is anticipated to be signed on Sunday, with Islamabad stating that an electronic signing ceremony is being organised. Conversely, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei explicitly downplayed an immediate conclusion, stating, "It will not be tomorrow," though he acknowledged that an agreement might still be formalised in the subsequent days. (ANI)
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