Iran’s anti-negotiation hardliners turn against President Pezeshkian

Iran’s anti-negotiation hardliners turn against President Pezeshkian over negotiations with the US.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026 [Mike Segar/Reuters]

As the threat of a new war with the United States looms, the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, a hardline political faction also known as the Paydari Front, has asked the Iranian parliament and the Supreme National Security Council to initiate a withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

This move has been interpreted as a call for Iran to develop nuclear weapons, with the Paydari Front saying these military endeavours should happen “as quickly as possible”.

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It is the latest bold and defiant message by Iran’s hardliners against Washington, after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28 on the pretext that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The war has seen the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to shipping, massive damage to Iranian and Arab infrastructure in missile and air strikes, and huge disruptions to global energy supplies.

The past eight months have also marked an ongoing existential power struggle between moderates and centrists, such as President Masoud Pezeshkian, who generally favour talks with the US, and hardliners in the Paydari Front who do not.

Ultimately, the moderate camp wants a swift end to the conflict to save Iran’s crumbling economy. Hardliners believe Washington only understands the language of force, so the war should continue until the US capitulates to Iran’s demands .

The domestic rivalry can be seen in the public squares of major Iranian cities, where for the past 200 days supporters of the hardline faction have rallied at night.

Initially, these gatherings were a way for people to express public support for the government and protest the unprovoked US war on Iran. Over time, they have evolved into highly organised political rallies where activists can publicly express their strong opposition to moderates’ efforts to end the war through diplomatic channels.

The hardliners’ slogans include “No compromise, no surrender – the fight against America” and “Negotiating with the enemy is a betrayal of the homeland”.

They also protested against President Pezeshkian’s return to Tehran from the UN General Assembly in September , where he condemned the US war but also extolled the virtues of diplomacy . The pickets were viewed as a way for their “anti-negotiation” message to be heard by the president.

This bloc has considerable power beyond these activist circles. Hardliners have a strong presence in Tehran’s municipal government, the parliament, among religious preachers and eulogists, and academia and the media.

Amirhossein Sabeti, a member of parliament aligned with the Paydari Front, said in a statement that negotiations with the US will not begin unless Washington’s siege on Iran’s southern ports or sanctions end.

“The enemy’s objective of destroying Iran has not changed. It is simply waiting for the right moment to launch another surprise attack. Those who thought negotiations could prevent war, or that the United States would lift sanctions through negotiations, did not understand how the world works and were deluding themselves,” he said. “The only language the world understands is the language of power.”

The political faction to which Sabeti belongs has filed a motion in the Iranian parliament to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, following his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Iran’s parliament is also considering a law to criminalise interviews with foreign media outlets, which would be another win for hardliners.

But as the impeachment motion against Iran’s foreign minister moves through parliament, the political camp supporting the government continues to advocate for a diplomatic solution to the current conflict.

Davood Heshmati, a journalist considered close to Pezeshkian, said there are signs that US forces have foregone the grand ambition of overthrowing the Iranian government and have instead opted for more modest aims, which makes a diplomatic solution more likely.

“There are several ways to achieve those other goals, one of which is war. But, in any case, to prevent a war, all alternatives to military action must first be tested. Negotiations and a diplomatic agreement are among those alternatives, and they should always take precedence over war,” Heshmati told Al Jazeera.

“Those who say the Strait of Hormuz must not be reopened are people who believe the war must not end. From the perspective of Iran’s anti-negotiation camp, the war between Iran and the United States has no end. What they do not explain is what outcome they expect from this war. They seem to believe that, after several rounds of fighting, the United States will simply walk away from the conflict. But that idea does not appear to be consistent with the logic of what we are witnessing.”

Mourners commemorate the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran on July 14, 2026 [Majid Saeedi/Getty Images]

He indicated that for any war to end, there needs to be an understanding with the US that respects Iran’s territorial integrity.

“Those in Iran who support negotiations argue that a balance of power does not necessarily have to be achieved through war, although, given everything that has happened along the diplomatic path, the distrust that exists is understandable,” he said.

Political analyst Negar Mortazavi argues that hardline groups are a powerful domestic force, but they currently have limited influence over Iran’s foreign policy.

“Iran’s hardliners are not a marginal political force. They are a well-organised and deeply entrenched part of [Iran’s] political establishment. Their strength lies in their ability to mobilise supporters, shape political discourse, pressure the government, and raise the political cost of diplomacy,” she said.

“But political influence should not be confused with ultimate decision-making authority. Decisions about war, peace, and negotiations are made at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership and national security establishment.”

Hardliners can continue to confront negotiators, threaten impeachments against those who propose talks with the US, and try to obstruct diplomatic endeavours, she said. But they cannot prevent an agreement being reached if it is backed by the country’s main powerholders, including Supreme Leader Mujtaba Khamenei and the Supreme National Security Council.

“The [hardliners] are powerful enough to complicate diplomacy, but not necessarily powerful enough to stop it. [They] are a highly visible and vocal political force, but they are not calling the shots,” Mortazavi told Al Jazeera.

“Throughout the war, Tehran has kept the door open to diplomacy, and the decision at the highest levels of leadership has been to pursue negotiations with the United States and seek an agreement. The hardliners have been unable to stop that. The real test of their power is that they could not stop the JCPOA [nuclear agreement] under [former President Barack] Obama, and they could not stop the more recent MoU [memorandum of understanding] with Trump. Ultimately, the decisions were made above their heads.”

Street rallies and television programmes opposing a peaceful solution to the US-Israeli war against Iran will continue. But the delay in scheduling the foreign minister’s impeachment hearing, alongside continued diplomatic engagement with mediators to end the war, suggests that the moderates are still a force to be reckoned with.

伊朗的反谈判强硬派转而反对佩泽什基安总统与美国的谈判。

2026年9月23日，伊朗总统马苏德·佩泽什基安在美国纽约联合国总部向第81届联合国大会发表讲话。[迈克·塞加尔/路透社]

随着与美国爆发新战争的威胁日益逼近，强硬派政治派别伊斯兰革命稳定阵线（又称帕伊达里阵线）已要求伊朗议会和最高国家安全委员会启动退出《不扩散核武器条约》的程序。

此举被解读为呼吁伊朗发展核武器，帕伊达里阵线表示，这些军事行动应该“尽快”进行。

列表 1/3 美伊战争：过去与现在，自二月以来局势发生了哪些变化

俄罗斯和乌克兰表示，计划于11月在阿联酋举行会谈（共3条，此为第2条）

伊朗表示不会允许美国军舰靠近​​，而特朗普正在考虑新的袭击计划（共3条，此为第3条）

这是伊朗强硬派针对华盛顿发出的最新大胆挑衅信息。此前，美国和以色列于2月28日以德黑兰试图发展核武器为借口对伊朗发动了战争。

战争导致霍尔木兹海峡基本关闭，伊朗和阿拉伯国家的基础设施在导弹和空袭中遭到大规模破坏，全球能源供应也受到巨大干扰。

过去八个月也标志着温和派和中间派（如总统马苏德·佩泽什基安）与帕伊达里阵线中的强硬派之间持续的生死存亡的权力斗争。温和派和中间派通常倾向于与美国进行对话，而强硬派则不赞成与美国进行对话。

最终，温和派希望尽快结束冲突，以拯救伊朗摇摇欲坠的经济。强硬派则认为华盛顿只听得懂武力，因此战争应该持续下去，直到美国向伊朗的要求屈服为止。

在伊朗各大城市的公共广场上，可以看到国内的敌对情绪，过去 200 天里，强硬派的支持者一直在夜间举行集会。

最初，这些集会是民众表达对政府支持、抗议美国无端发动的伊朗战争的一种方式。随着时间的推移，它们演变成组织严密的政治集会，活动人士可以在集会上公开强烈反对温和派通过外交渠道结束战争的努力。

强硬派的口号包括“不妥协，不投降——与美国作斗争”和“与敌人谈判就是背叛祖国”。

他们还抗议佩泽什基安总统9月从联合国大会返回德黑兰。佩泽什基安在会上谴责了美国的战争，但也赞扬了外交的优点。这些纠察活动被视为向总统传达他们“反对谈判”信息的一种方式。

这个阵营在这些活动人士圈子之外拥有相当大的影响力。强硬派在德黑兰市政府、议会、宗教布道者和颂词者、学术界和媒体中都拥有强大的影响力。

与帕伊达里阵线结盟的议员阿米尔侯赛因·萨贝蒂在一份声明中表示，除非华盛顿结束对伊朗南部港口的围困或制裁，否则不会与美国开始谈判。

“敌人摧毁伊朗的目标从未改变。他们只是在等待合适的时机发动另一次突袭。那些认为谈判可以避免战争，或者认为美国会通过谈判解除制裁的人，根本不了解世界的运作方式，他们只是在自欺欺人，”他说。“这个世界唯一能听懂的语言就是权力的语言。”

萨贝蒂所属的政治派别已向伊朗议会提交动议，要求弹劾外交部长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇。此前，阿拉格奇曾前往纽约参加联合国大会。伊朗议会还在审议一项法案，拟将接受外国媒体采访的行为定为犯罪，这将是强硬派的又一次胜利。

但随着针对伊朗外交部长的弹劾动议在议会推进，支持政府的政治阵营继续倡导通过外交途径解决当前的冲突。

与佩泽什基安关系密切的记者达乌德·赫什马蒂表示，有迹象表明，美军已经放弃了推翻伊朗政府的宏伟目标，转而选择了更为温和的目标，这使得外交解决的可能性更大。

“实现其他目标的方法有很多，战争就是其中之一。但是，无论如何，为了防止战争，必须首先尝试所有非军事行动的替代方案。谈判和外交协议就是这些替代方案之一，而且它们应该始终优先于战争，”赫什马蒂告诉半岛电视台。

“那些主张霍尔木兹海峡不应重开的人，实际上是认为战争不应结束的人。在伊朗反谈判阵营看来，伊美战争永无止境。但他们并未解释这场战争的最终结果。他们似乎认为，经过几轮交战后，美国最终会选择退出冲突。然而，这种想法与我们所目睹的现实逻辑并不相符。”

2026年7月14日，哀悼者在德黑兰伊玛目霍梅尼清真寺悼念已故最高领袖阿里·哈梅内伊。[Majid Saeedi/Getty Images]

他表示，任何战争要想结束，都需要与美国达成尊重伊朗领土完整的谅解。

他说：“伊朗国内支持谈判的人士认为，权力平衡不一定非要通过战争来实现，尽管考虑到外交途径中发生的一切，目前存在的不信任是可以理解的。”

政治分析家内加尔·莫尔塔扎维认为，强硬派团体是一股强大的国内力量，但目前对伊朗外交政策的影响力有限。

“伊朗强硬派并非边缘政治力量。他们是伊朗政治体制中组织严密、根深蒂固的一部分。他们的力量在于能够动员支持者、塑造政治话语、向政府施压并提高外交的政治成本，”她说道。

“但是，政治影响力不应与最终决策权混淆。有关战争、和平与谈判的决定，是由伊朗最高领导层和国家安全机构做出的。”

她表示，强硬派可以继续与谈判代表对抗，威胁弹劾那些提议与美国对话的人，并试图阻挠外交努力。但如果协议得到包括最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊和最高国家安全委员会在内的国家主要权力机构的支持，他们就无法阻止协议的达成。

莫尔塔扎维告诉半岛电视台：“强硬派势力足以使外交复杂化，但未必强大到足以阻止外交。他们是一支引人注目且声音响亮的政治力量，但他们并非最终的决策者。”

“在整个战争期间，德黑兰始终保持着外交开放的大门，最高领导层的决定是与美国进行谈判并寻求达成协议。强硬派无力阻止这一进程。真正考验他们实力的是，他们既无法阻止奥巴马执政时期的伊核协议，也无法阻止最近与特朗普签署的谅解备忘录。归根结底，这些决定都是由更高层的人做出的。”

反对以和平方式解决美以对伊朗战争的街头集会和电视节目仍将继续。但推迟对外交部长弹劾听证会的安排，以及持续与调解人进行外交接触以结束战争，表明温和派仍然是一股不可忽视的力量。