Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
Speaker of Iran's parliament who publicly repudiated President Pezeshkian's halt order on military operations.
Last refreshed: 29 March 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Iran's third-ranking official denied US talks — while apparently holding them?
Latest on Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
- Who is Ghalibaf in Iran?
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is the Speaker of Iran's Parliament and a former IRGC commander. He has emerged as Iran's de facto wartime decision-maker after Khamenei's death.Source: editorial
- Is Ghalibaf negotiating with the US?
- US media identified Ghalibaf as the Iranian interlocutor with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He has publicly denied any negotiations are taking place.Source: editorial
- Why did Ghalibaf defy Iran's president?
- After Khamenei's death, President Pezeshkian ordered a halt to Gulf strikes. Ghalibaf overrode the order, claiming the strikes were authorised by the late Supreme Leader, not the president.Source: editorial
- What did Ghalibaf threaten to destroy?
- Ghalibaf has threatened irreversible destruction of Gulf energy infrastructure, targeted UAE facilities over Kharg Island strikes, and tied Hormuz access to Iran's power grid survival.Source: editorial
Background
Speaker of Iran's Parliament and the country's third-ranking constitutional figure, Ghalibaf is a career IRGC officer who commanded the air force and national police before serving twelve years as Tehran's mayor. He has run for president five times since 2005 without success, most recently in 2024 when he lost to the reformist Pezeshkian. His power base is the principlist faction and IRGC institutional networks.
Ghalibaf has emerged as the dominant power broker in wartime Iran, threatening irreversible destruction of Gulf energy infrastructure , tying Strait of Hormuz access to power grid survival , and being identified as the Iranian interlocutor with US envoys Steve Witkoff while publicly denying any negotiations .
After Ali Khamenei's death, Ghalibaf publicly defied President Pezeshkian's halt order on Gulf strikes, attributing them to the late Supreme Leader's direct orders. He has since threatened the UAE with infrastructure strikes over Kharg Island . The Parliament speaker is effectively acting as Iran's wartime decision-maker.
