Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is being seen by some officials in Washington as a "hot option" to lead the country, Politico reported. However, the White House has not thrown its support behind any one figure yet and is instead evaluating several options to find someone open to negotiating a deal, two officials said.
Ghalibaf has also been linked to behind-the-scenes, mediated discussions with the Trump administration aimed at ending the US-Iran conflict. Despite his history of warning about retaliation against the US and its allies, some within the White House see Ghalibaf as a potentially workable partner who could steer negotiations in the next phase of the conflict.
US Backing New Face
Ghalibaf, however, has pushed back on those claims, calling reports of talks with the US "fake news" and accusing the Trump administration of trying to influence financial and oil markets. So, who is Ghalibaf, the new man in focus?
Ghalibaf was born in 1961 in Torghabeh, a town near Mashhad in Iran's Khorasan-e Razavi province. After the 1979 revolution, he joined the Basij militia and was sent to western Iran, where he took part in operations against Kurdish insurgent groups.
He began his formal military career at just 19, joining the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War. Within two years, he rose to become chief commander of the Imam Reza Brigade. By 1998, he had moved up further, taking charge of the IRGC's Aerospace Force.
In 1999, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed him as Iran's national police chief. During that time, he pushed for a tougher response to student protests, upgraded police equipment, and dropped legal cases against some media outlets.
Highly Educated and Sharp Politician
Ghalibaf is also well-educated, holding degrees in human geography and political geography from Iranian universities. Alongside his political and military career, he is a trained pilot certified to fly certain Airbus aircraft.
He first ran for president in 2005 but was unsuccessful. After that, he shifted to local politics and was elected mayor of Tehran.
He went on to win re-election in 2007 and again in 2013. While he was credited with carrying out major development projects in northern Tehran, critics accused him of overlooking poorer southern areas and raised concerns about corruption and questionable land deals.
Ghalibaf ran for the presidency again in 2013 and 2024, and briefly entered the 2017 race before stepping aside to support another candidate.
In 2020, he became the speaker of Iran's parliament, a role he has held for six years. He succeeded Ali Larijani, who later served as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on March 17.
