As Iran and the United States appeared to be nearing an agreement to end hostilities this week, not everyone in Iran was on board.<\/p>\n
The hard-line faction, a fringe but loud group with members in Parliament and a seat on the Supreme National Security Council, has openly opposed any concessions to Washington, using rallies, state media and private and public statements as tools to try to derail a deal.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear when an actual agreement<\/a> will be announced, if at all. President Trump met for two hours with cabinet members in the Situation Room at the White House on Friday, but he put off making a final decision, according to a senior administration official<\/a>. Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a social media post<\/a> earlier in the day that Tehran did not trust Washington and that no step would \u201cbe taken before the other side acts first.\u201d<\/p>\n But in Iran the political fight continues. State television, which is controlled by a hard-line director, has amplified the divisions in the country and portrayed negotiations as a failure. On Monday, President Masoud Pezeshkian scolded state television in a meeting with its senior leaders, calling on them to avoid sowing discord.<\/p>\n Mr. Pezeshkian said even Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war, \u201cagreed that we must go to the negotiation table.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut now,\u201d he continued, \u201cwe are advertising that we should not negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n At a packed rally of hard-line supporters in Tehran on Friday, large crowds waved flags and chanted for defiance. A state television reporter asked some attendees if Iran should retreat or continue fighting the United States and Israel. \u201cWe want them to punish them good,\u201d one woman said. \u201cStand firm, we are with you until our last drop of blood,\u201d said one man.<\/p>\n