Iranian Lawmakers File Impeachment Motion Against Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Hardline members of Iran's parliament have filed a formal motion to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi while he was attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The legislative push, spearheaded by conservative lawmaker Amir-Hossein Sabeti and submitted to Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was triggered by reports of diplomatic engagements and alleged contacts with U.S. interlocutor Steve Witkoff through Qatari mediation.

Opponents claim Araghchi acted unilaterally and without authorization from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sabeti cited the New York meetings as an unpermitted diplomatic blunder, while national security committee member Ali Khezrian insisted that Araghchi must face parliament upon return to explain actions that breach national interests. Representative Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani supported the motion, additionally accusing the foreign minister of making statements that indirectly lowered global oil prices to Washington's benefit.

Government allies and high-level officials have firmly dismissed allegations of rogue diplomacy. Mohsen Rezaee clarified that Araghchi's mandate in New York involved delivering Iran's finalized conditions to regional mediators, including Qatar and Pakistan, under the strategic oversight of the Supreme National Security Council headed by President Masoud Pezeshkian. Analysts note the internal conflict reflects persistent factional pushback against the Pezeshkian administration’s renewed diplomatic overtures toward the West.

The domestic dispute has drawn historical comparisons to the abrupt 2010 dismissal of former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while Mottaki was on an official mission in Senegal. Araghchi will face intense parliamentary grilling upon his return to Tehran, testing the fragile political equilibrium between Pezeshkian’s moderate cabinet and an entrenched conservative legislative majority.