Amid rumours of widening rift in Tehran leadership, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have alleged that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is working on behalf of the IRGC, according to a report.
Ghalibaf accused Araghchi of sidelining the political leadership and acting as an aide to IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi, reports Iran International.
Pezeshkian reportedly told his aides that if this continues, he would fire Araghchi, two sources informed the opposition-aligned news outlet.
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The two factions differ on whether to agree to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme during the talks with the US.
It should be noted that Ghalibaf did not accompany Araghchi for the cancelled second round of talks in Islamabad. Araghchi later went to Oman to discuss the control of Strait of Hormuz and to St Petersburg to discuss strategic and defence ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
They were both part of the first round of peace negotiations in Islamabad that was attended by US Vice President JD Vance, Trump's adviser Jared Kushner and US Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The report comes a day after Iran supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to protect the Islamic Republic's nuclear and missile capabilities.
The statement was read by a state television anchor on Thursday. Khamenei said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is "at the bottom of its waters" and that a "new chapter" was being written in the region's history.
"Ninety million proud and honourable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran's identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities - from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities - as national," Khamenei said.
