An Iranian to negotiate with: Who is Mohammad Ghalibaf?

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran were taking place, raising hopes for a possible agreement to end the war.

According to the US news website Axios, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey had all mediated between the US and Iran on Sunday and attempted to arrange a phone call with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, and his team for Monday.

The leadership in Tehran, however, denied any such talks. Ghalibaf called it "fake news" designed to manipulate financial and oil markets.

And according to the Wall Street Journal, thousands of US Marines will be deployed to the Middle East this Friday to secure the Strait of Hormuz .

From revolutionary guard to powerful politician

Ghalibaf is a 64-year-old former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a pilot. He holds a doctorate in political geography and his dissertation explored the relationship between space, power, the state and security policy.

As a young soldier, Ghalibaf fought in the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988 and climbed the ranks of the IRGC. After the war ended, he became head of the Khatam al-Anbiya, the IRGC's engineering arm. The organization was tasked with rebuilding the country after the war with Iraq and continues to function as their economic wing today. Hundreds of subsidiaries and subcontractors are under its umbrella.

In 1997, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appointed Ghalibaf as commander of the IRGC air force. Along with other leaders, he was key in repressing Iran's 1999 student protests. Alongside military officer Qassem Soleimani, he signed a threatening letter to then-president Mohammad Khatami warning the government not to continue "tolerating" the protests. In subsequent interviews, Ghalibaf said he personally beat demonstrators with sticks while riding a motorcycle through the streets. A year later, he became the country’s police chief.

Ghalibaf was driven by political ambition and ran for president three times.

In 2005, he lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was then mayor of Tehran. Ghalibaf subsequently took over as mayor of the capital, a position he held from 2005 to 2017.

In 2013, he ran for president again, this time losing to Hassan Rouhani. In 2017, he eventually withdrew his candidacy to support another conservative candidate.

Ongoing corruption allegations, controversy

Iranian journalists report that during his tenure in Tehran, many government-owned properties were reportedly sold well below market price, in some cases for just half their actual value. Buyers are said to have included government officials as well as members of the Ghalibaf family.

In addition, Ghalibaf is alleged to have transferred substantial sums from the city treasury to his wife’s foundation, which pledges to support single mothers and women who are the primary breadwinners for their families. The foundation’s operations are not transparent.

But corruption allegations against Ghalibaf were never fully probed due to his close relationship with Khamenei. Journalists who reported on the matter were imprisoned.

In recent years, Ghalibaf’s family have also made headlines. One talking point was his son Eshaq’s attempt to obtain permanent residency in Canada. He had been seeking a decision from the Canadian immigration authorities since 2019 and even sued them in federal court over delays. Eshaq’s attempt to obtain a residence permit sparked debate among the Iranian public, particularly since this appeared to be at odds with his father’s hardline anti-Western stance. In the end, his application was denied in Canada.

A trip by his daughter and her family to Turkey also made headlines. In 2022, photos were published showing them returning from Istanbul loaded with items for children that the local media described as "newborn baby kits." Given that the country was suffering from an extended economic crisis and galloping inflation due to sanctions and mismanagement, this incident also sparked fierce criticism.

Ghalibaf is considered highly influential within the IRGC. The fact that, unlike a number of other high-ranking officials in the country, he has so far survived the US and Israeli attacks in Iran has fueled speculation about his future role. 

This article was originally published in German.