Iranian parliament speaker in spotlight after reportedly holding talks with US on ending war
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former mayor of Tehran, is emerging as a key player as Israeli and US strikes continue to target the Islamic Republic's top leadership, amplifying his role at a crucial moment in the war, Reuters and the Times of Israel report.
PHOTO EPA-EFE
An Israeli official and a source familiar with the situation said on Monday that Qalibaf, a protégé of the former supreme leader and a former presidential candidate, had been communicating with the United States on Iran's behalf as the conflict entered a new phase of escalation, a claim Iran has since denied.
Amidst the elimination of several important figures from the Iranian political and military sphere, Qalibaf emerged as a link between the political, security and clerical elites.
The developments come as the supreme leader's successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared in public and is believed to have been injured in the initial attacks.
In this power vacuum, Qalibaf adopted an aggressive tone. Addressing US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Khamenei's death, he vowed revenge, threatening “blows so devastating you'll be begging”.
“I say to these two criminals and their agents: you have broken our red line and you must pay,” he said in a televised speech.
Qalibaf's rhetoric reflects his allegiance to the Islamic Republic's hard line. A former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and police chief, he was involved in the bloody suppression of protests in 2002.
However, he built an image as a pragmatist and a voice in favor of modernization. In the 2005 presidential campaign, he highlighted his professional experience, including posing in a pilot's uniform to convey confidence.
This combination makes him a possible candidate for possible talks through informal channels with the US.
Trump talks about 'productive conversations'
In Washington, President Donald Trump announced what he described as “very good and productive conversations on a definitive settlement of hostilities in the Middle East.”
“Based on the tone of these detailed and constructive discussions … I have ordered the postponement of all military strikes … for a period of five days,” Trump announced Monday.
He later described the talks to US media as “very intense” and “a great meeting”, saying there were “major points of agreement” and that Iran “very much wants to reach an agreement”.
Trump insisted on US demands: Iran will not build nuclear bombs or enrich uranium.
Tehran denies the claims
Iranian officials quickly rejected Trump's remarks. The Fars agency reported that there was no direct communication with the US or through intermediaries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed messages sent through third countries about a US request for talks, but said no negotiations had taken place “in the last 24 hours”.
“There have been no negotiations with the US. Fake news is being used to manipulate the financial and oil markets,” Qalibaf said in turn.
Mystery regarding the Iranian interlocutor
Trump declined to name the person he was negotiating with, saying only that the US was talking to “the man I consider the most respected and the leader.”
He confirmed that he was not Mojtaba Khamenei, adding: “We have not heard anything from the son … we do not know if he is alive.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters the US had requested a one-on-one meeting with Qalibaf, but did not mention any proposed location.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the Supreme National Security Council had not yet decided on any talks and Iran had yet to respond.
Qalibaf, for his part, denied the existence of any discussions after his name started circulating in connection with them.
“There have been no negotiations with the US,” he wrote on X. “Fake news is being used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and to escape the impasse in which the US and Israel are caught.”
Israel, which has been attacking Iranian regime targets alongside the US since February 28, had no immediate reaction to the announcement, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Shortly after Trump's announcement, however, Netanyahu released a Hebrew-language video in which he did not mention the US president, but argued that Jerusalem was working to bring both Israel and Iran to “places they have never been” and asserted the Jewish state's advantage over Tehran.
A source briefed on Israel's war plans told Reuters that Washington had kept it informed of its talks with Tehran and that Israel was likely to follow Washington's lead in suspending attacks on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.
But shortly after the post was published, the Israeli military announced that the Air Force had launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran, targeting the Iranian regime's infrastructure sites.
Corroborating Trump's account, Axios and Channel 12 reported that Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey worked frantically to buy time before Trump's ultimatum expired.
On Sunday, their foreign ministers spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and, separately, Steve Witkoff. They would have discussed not only a solution regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but also an end to the war. “Mediation is ongoing and making progress,” a source familiar with the discussions told Axios. “The discussion is about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues. We hope to get answers soon.”
