Iran’s leadership remains deeply divided over whether to pursue negotiations with the United States, with the most radical factions in Tehran arguing that talks should not take place at all.

At the furthest extreme is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the “Paydari” movement — Persian for “stability.” This hardline group insists Iran cannot make any concessions to the U.S. and must achieve an absolute military victory.

A competing faction that favors negotiations is led by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. They argue that diplomacy and military action should proceed in parallel as twin paths to victory.

“Negotiation is a political tool and a complement to military action to force the enemy to a point of compulsion and extract real concessions,” an adviser to Qalibaf, Mahdi Mohammadi, wrote on social media last week.

The success of either faction will have major implications for how Iran operates after the war with the U.S. concludes.