Iran ultra-hardliners push to derail potential US agreement

Members of the group oppose engagement with the US and have argued publicly that Iran should continue confronting Washington rather than pursue compromise.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Iranian hardline factions have intensified public and political opposition to ongoing negotiations with the United States, accusing Tehran’s negotiating team of capitulation as talks over a potential agreement with Washington enter what officials describe as a critical stage, CNN reported.

At the center of the campaign is the “Jebhe-ye Paydari,” or Endurance Front, an ultra-hardline movement that has expanded its influence through media outlets, parliament and organized street rallies in Tehran.

Members of the group oppose engagement with the US and have argued publicly that Iran should continue confronting Washington rather than pursue compromise.

The faction has drawn attention following remarks by President Trump last month describing Iran’s leadership as “fractured” and in “disarray.”

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, have issued statements emphasizing unity, while critics inside Iran have accused the Endurance Front of amplifying claims of internal division.

Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said members of the group “view resistance against the United States and Israel as an eternal fight.”

He added: “They believe in a Shia state that needs to continue until the end of times and are quite fanatic when it comes to that religious ideology.”

The movement has also targeted Iranian negotiators directly. Mahmoud Nabavian, a lawmaker affiliated with the group who participated in negotiations in Islamabad last month, later called negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program a “strategic mistake” and urged the removal of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from the negotiating team.

“Given America’s history of bad faith and the presence of supporters of the humiliating JCPOA (2015 nuclear agreement) alongside Mr. Ghalibaf in the negotiations, there is no hope for negotiations and a favorable agreement for Iran,” Nabavian wrote on X on Thursday.

The faction’s growing visibility has prompted criticism from across Iran’s political spectrum. Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media, said the group’s tactics “really backfired” and that the hardliners “have grown increasingly isolated.”