Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran's Parliament (Majlis), has emerged as a central figure in Iran's diplomatic efforts surrounding its nuclear program. A former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force and a former Mayor of Tehran, Ghalibaf has long been one of the most prominent political and military figures in the Islamic Republic.
Born in 1961 in Torbat-e Jam, in the Khorasan region of northeastern Iran, Ghalibaf rose through the ranks of the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. He later served as commander of the IRGC Air Force and as chief of Iran's national police force before becoming Mayor of Tehran, a post he held from 2005 to 2017. He was elected Speaker of Parliament in 2020 and re-elected to the position in subsequent years.
Ghalibaf has been a perennial presidential candidate in Iran, running multiple times without success before focusing on his parliamentary role. His political profile is considered conservative and aligned with Iran's hardline establishment, though he has at times presented himself as a pragmatic technocrat focused on economic management and infrastructure.
In the context of renewed US-Iran nuclear diplomacy in 2025 and 2026, Ghalibaf has played a visible role representing Iranian interests. Iran and the United States have engaged in indirect and direct talks over Tehran's nuclear program, with Iran insisting on its right to enrich uranium while Western powers seek verifiable limits on its atomic activities. Ghalibaf's involvement signals the importance Iran's leadership places on parliamentary oversight of any potential agreement.
Ghalibaf has consistently taken a firm stance on Iran's nuclear rights, stating that Iran will not surrender its enrichment capabilities. His background in the IRGC and his close ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei make him a trusted figure within the Islamic Republic's power structure, though his role as a negotiator also reflects the complex, multi-institutional nature of Iranian foreign policy decision-making.
