Trump Reportedly Eyes Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as Iran's Future Leader
The administration of US President Donald Trump is secretly considering Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a potential partner and even future leader. Ghalibaf is reportedly the party from Iran negotiating with the Trump administration to end the war.
According to a Politico report cited by Anadolu Agency on Tuesday (24/3/2026), quoting two administration officials, the report states that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is viewed by at least some people in the White House as a reliable partner who can lead Iran and negotiate with the Trump administration in the next phase of the war.
The officials said the White House is not yet ready to commit to any one person. “He is an interesting option,” one administration official said, according to Politico.
“He is one of the most influential… But we have to test him, and we cannot rush.”
Donald Trump said on Monday (23/3) that there would be a “very serious regime change” in Iran. He added that the change has begun because “everyone has been killed” from the previous leadership.
“They have only just started. Regime change will happen automatically, but we are dealing with some people who I think are very reasonable, very solid,” he said.
According to Politico, one official said that Trump does not want to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil centre, because he hopes the next leader will make a deal similar to the one made by then-Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who took over after President Nicolas Maduro was arrested in January.
“This is all about putting someone like Delcy Rodriguez in Venezuela that we said, ‘We will keep you there. We will not remove you. You will cooperate with us. You will give us a good deal, the first deal on oil,’” the official said as quoted.
According to Al Jazeera, Mohammed Ghalibaf, a parliamentary speaker, has reportedly emerged as a central figure in negotiations with the US to end the war against Iran.
Although US media reports indicate that Ghalibaf is the person in Tehran that the US wants to negotiate with, the senior leader said “no negotiations have been conducted”. He also mocked Trump’s war tactics on social media.
Ghalibaf previously said on Monday (23/3) that “no negotiations” have been conducted with the United States after US President Donald Trump announced that talks were ongoing.
“No negotiations have been conducted with the US, and fake news is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets and to avoid the traps that ensnare the US and Israel,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X, as reported by AFP.