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Dozens of Iranian women protested outside a foreign ministry office in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Saturday, voicing opposition to a proposed peace deal backed by United States President Donald Trump and mediator Pakistan.
The women expressed their displeasure with Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Abbas Araghchi, chanting “death to dishonourable Araghchi, the infiltrator” while waving red and black flags outside the building.
Videos circulating on social media also showed demonstrators outside the foreign ministry in Tehran chanting “Araghchi, resign” and “Ghalibaf, resign,” referring to Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
The protests followed growing opposition from hardline Iranian figures to the proposed agreement, which Trump and Pakistan say could be signed as early as Sunday. Tehran, however, has been more cautious about the timeline.
Critics argued that the deal is not in Iran’s national interest and would weaken the country’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes.
They also accused Iranian negotiators of making excessive concessions in an effort to secure an agreement.
Speaking on Friday, Araghchi said the proposed deal would include lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, imposed in response to Iran’s own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The administration of the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same as before,” he said, describing the waterway as one of Iran’s “main instruments of deterrence,” he said.
