Iran's Ghalibaf denies schism between 'moderate' and 'radicals', says Iran united in ‘revolutionary’ identity

Iran's Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, on Thursday denied the existence of any schism between the "moderate" and “radicals” within Iran. He denied that binary and asserted that within Iran everyone is "Iranian" and “revolutionary.” There were floating reports from Times of Israel suggesting an internal rift in Iran and that the Iranian speaker of the parliament, Ghalibaf, who participated in the first round of talks in Islamabad, will not take part in the negotiations in the second round. The report cited unnamed sources claiming he decided to back down from the negotiations following interference from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Force.

"In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates; we are all ‘Iranian’ and 'revolutionary,' and with the iron unity of the nation and government, with complete obedience to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions," read a translated post from Ghalibaf in the social media platform X. “One God, one leader, one nation, and one path; that path being the path to victory for Iran, dearer than life."

The persistent enmity between the IRGC and the US, which considers the US an existential enemy and a peace negotiation between the US and Iran appear incoherent to observers. However, the messaging from the Iranian side does not reflect any internal rift, and neither Ghalibaf nor any other top Iranian leadership have discussed it. Both Ghalibaf and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, have been perceived by the US as closely aligned with the IRGC.

Also Read: Ghislaine Maxwell's mysterious USB drive to DOJ- Is commutation next?

Esmail Baghei accused the US of “promoting terrorism”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei has accused the country, which is the “cradle of democracy”, of "promoting terrorism". US President Donald Trump shared a post of the Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen, who claimed that if “there are two factions in Iran, one that wants a deal and one that doesn’t, let’s kill the ones who don’t want a deal.” He called it a “moral faliure” of the US and wrote in post on X, “The United States, which once presented itself as a cradle of democracy, freedom, and human values, now appears to become a promoter of terrorism, murder, and mass violence.”