- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf denied being the US insider negotiating with Iran recently
- Ghalibaf warned US-Israeli forces against escalation, calling it a big mistake
- Trump claimed direct talks with Iranian leaders, including Ghalibaf, over war terms
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian Parliament speaker, has denied US President Donald Trump's claim that he's the insider figure from the Islamic Republic with whom Washington has been negotiating in recent weeks. Rebuffing Trump's claim, Ghalibaf said that Washington was promoting "desires as news while threatening our nation at the same time".
He also warned the US-Israeli forces against any escalation, claiming it'll be a 'big mistake' as each new strike will be met with several others from the Iranian side.
"The enemy promotes its desires as news while threatening our nation at the same time. Big Mistake. If they hit one, they'll take several back," he wrote on a post on X.
"God willing, the people of Iran, under the leadership of the Supreme Leader, will make the enemy regret the aggression and reclaim their rights," the senior Iranian leader added.
Tehran has already denied holding any "direct" talks with the United States, saying that it has received messages through some mediators regarding Trump's desire for negotiations.
Trump's Ghalibaf Gamble
The remarks came after Trump, during an interview with the New York Post, claimed that the United States was in "direct talks" with Iranian leaders over terms for ending the war, including exchanges with Ghalibaf. He told the publication that he'll know "in about a week" whether the Iranian speaker is someone the US can truly work with.
While reports over the past few weeks have claimed that Ghalibaf was Washington's preferred conduit, despite his ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and his hardline background. However, the US officials have refrained from identifying him so far.
Ghalibaf was also among the two Iranians, along with the foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who were reportedly removed from the Israeli hit list amid Trump's call for talks with Tehran. Earlier, the US president had quipped that whoever he publicly names as his point person in Iran would end up being killed by their own people.
Trump's Big Iran Claim
In a flurry of claims over the past two days, Trump has also claimed that Tehran has agreed to many of the 15 demands he transmitted last week through Pakistani mediators.
"They gave us most of the points," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. "We're having very good meetings, both directly and indirectly."
