Trump negotiates Iran deal with ‘mystery leader’ as Ayatollah maimed | World | News
Donald Trump announced that he had held direct talks with a senior Iranian figure whom he described as the country’s “most respected leader”; The man officially appointed as Supreme Leader remained out of the public eye following the airstrike that severely injured him.
After what he described as “very good and productive talks” with Tehran, Trump withdrew his threat to attack Iran’s power grid, telling reporters a deal was achievable and could happen in as little as five days.
Trump made clear that the person he was talking to was not Mujtaba Khamenei, the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was appointed Supreme Leader by the regime’s ruling clerics despite losing at least one leg and suffering serious internal injuries in the attack.
“No one has heard from him, we see a statement made every now and then, but we don’t know if he’s alive or not,” Trump said about Mojtaba.
Who is Trump talking to?
The identity of Trump’s Iranian interlocutor was pieced together by Israeli intelligence. Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported that the man who maintains a back-channel connection to Washington is the hard-line parliamentary speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, whose résumé reads like a roll call of the regime’s most controversial parts.
Sun notes that before entering politics, he commanded the Revolutionary Guard air force, played a central role in suppressing the student uprising in July 1999, and made four unsuccessful attempts to run for president since 2005. Diplomatic sources say he could sit down with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Islamabad before the end of the week.
Ghalibaf publicly branded the talks reports as “fake news”.
In a post that appears to be an account
He said Iran demands the “complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors”, adding: “All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved.”
Strait of Hormuz proposal
In one of the most striking moments of the crisis, Trump raised the issue of a joint agreement with Tehran to manage traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway has been effectively closed since the start of the war, triggering a surge in crude oil prices from less than $73 per barrel to $113; it has wiped billions of dollars off stock markets and raised the prospect of a worldwide economic contraction.
When asked who would inspect the strait, Trump said, “Maybe me, maybe me,” and added that the strait could be opened “very soon” if an agreement is reached.
Mojtaba broke his silence on Monday with characteristically defiant statements; His first communication as the Religious Leader was not in person, but through a female presenter on state television. He pledged final victory and revenge for those killed in the conflict and reaffirmed that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed to shipping bound for Iran’s enemies.
The physical damage suffered by the new Religious Leader is very severe. Those with knowledge of his condition say that he lost his leg in the attack and suffered serious damage to his abdominal organs.
Washington’s ceasefire tone did not match its partner’s. Even as Trump announced a pause in planned attacks on Iran’s energy facilities, Israeli jets were already in the air over Tehran; It was a pointed reminder that the two allies do not always act at the same time.
