Mohammad Ghalibaf: Iran Parliament Speaker Who Is Potential US-Backed Leader

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is being seen by some in Washington as a “hot option” to lead the country, Politico reported, citing US officials. The White House has yet to back any single figure, instead “stress-testing” multiple candidates as it looks for someone willing to make a deal, two officials said.

The 64-year-old has reportedly been involved in mediated talks with the Trump administration to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, US officials said.

Ghalibaf, who has repeatedly threatened retaliation against the US and its allies, is nevertheless viewed by some in the White House as a workable partner who could lead Iran and negotiate in the war's next phase.

Ghalibaf has dismissed reports of negotiations with the US, writing that the Trump administration's claims about talks are “fake news” intended to manipulate financial and oil markets.

2/ No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 23, 2026

Who Is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf?

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was born in 1961 in Torghabeh, near Mashhad, in Iran's Khorasan-e Razavi province. After the 1979 revolution, he joined the Basij militia and was deployed to western Iran, where he took part in operations against Kurdish insurgents. 

Ghalibaf began his military career at the age of 19 with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War. Within two years, he became the chief commander of the Imam Reza Brigade. By 1998, he was appointed commander of the Aerospace Force of the IRGC.

A year later, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed him chief of Iran's national police. In that role, he called for a crackdown on student protests, modernised police equipment, and dropped lawsuits against some media outlets.

Ghalibaf holds degrees in human geography and political geography from Iranian universities and is also a trained pilot certified to fly certain Airbus aircraft.

In 2005, Ghalibaf ran for president but lost. He was then elected mayor of Tehran, as per AFP.

He was re-elected in 2007 and again in 2013. During his tenure, he was credited with development projects in northern Tehran but faced criticism for neglecting poorer southern areas and was accused of corruption and improper land sales.

He ran for president again in 2013 and 2024, and briefly entered the 2017 race before withdrawing in support of another candidate.

In 2020, Ghalibaf became speaker of Iran's parliament, a position he has held for six years. He replaced Ali Larijani, who later served as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Larijani was assassinated by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on March 17.