A hardline Iranian media outlet has accused members of the country's negotiating team of disregarding the Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's objections during talks with the United States, reviving criticism of the diplomacy that led to the Islamabad agreement.
The accusations were published by Raja News, which cited remarks by Mehdi Khannalizadeh, a member of the media team attached to the Iranian delegation during the Islamabad talks.
Khannalizadeh described what he portrayed as a prolonged dispute between the Supreme Leader and senior officials overseeing negotiations with Washington, saying that negotiators repeatedly departed from conditions set for engagement with the United States.
"The Supreme Leader fundamentally opposed the post-Islamabad negotiating process," Khannalizadeh told Raja News.
Dispute over negotiating framework
An initial proposal for talks with the United States was rejected after being submitted to Mojtaba Khamenei following his selection as a new leader, according to Khannalizadeh.
He said a subsequent ten-point framework was eventually developed and became the basis for an initial statement by the Supreme National Security Council. Khannalizadeh said the Supreme Leader added further conditions to the framework, including a prohibition on negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States initially accepted the framework as a basis for discussions, he said, but later declined to negotiate according to those terms once talks began in Islamabad.
Khannalizadeh added that members of the Iranian team nevertheless engaged in discussions touching on nuclear issues. He said this led US negotiators to conclude that Tehran wanted to avoid a return to war and could be pressured into making concessions.
Objections after Islamabad
Khannalizadeh said reports submitted after the Islamabad talks prompted a negative reaction from the Supreme Leader.
According to his account, the Supreme Leader criticized negotiators for discussing nuclear matters and for failing to insist on the conditions previously established for talks.
He also said several members of the Supreme National Security Council later wrote to the Supreme Leader arguing that negotiations could not proceed without addressing the nuclear issue and warning about the potential impact of continued conflict on Iranian infrastructure.
Khannalizadeh said Mojtaba Khamenei rejected those arguments and maintained that negotiations would not prevent attacks on the country's infrastructure.
Path to the agreement
Despite those objections, Khannalizadeh said officials continued exchanging messages with the United States and eventually abandoned the earlier ten-point framework in favor of a new 14-point proposal developed by the foreign ministry.
That process ultimately led to the Islamabad agreement, he added.
Khannalizadeh continued that the agreement remained unanswered for roughly two weeks after being sent for approval. During that period, officials discussed whether the absence of a response should be interpreted as consent, he claimed.
According to his account, the Supreme Leader instead sent a letter containing a series of questions for members of the Supreme National Security Council. Officials later provided written explanations regarding their interpretation of the agreement's provisions before final approval was granted.
Khannalizadeh argued that the subsequent approval did not reflect support for the negotiating process itself, but rather acceptance of commitments made by officials regarding implementation.
Raja News and the hardline camp
Raja News is widely regarded as being close to the hardline conservative camp in Iran, particularly figures associated with the Paydari Front.
The outlet has frequently provided favorable coverage to politicians and clerics linked to that faction, including Saeed Jalili, Morteza Agha-Tehrani, Hamid Rasaee, Amir-Hossein Sabeti and Mahmoud Nabavian who are mostly opposed to talks with the US. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani has also been associated with the current at various points.
