Trump hints at Iran talks, eyeing Ghalibaf as dealmaker during war

Amid a 26-day US-led war that has caused heavy casualties, displacement, and oil-market volatility, Trump floated the possibility of negotiating with Iran and suggested a high-ranking Tehran figure—parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—as the right partner, though Ghalibaf denied talks. Analysts say his insider status and cross-power-center ties could make him a viable interlocutor, but Tehran’s hardliners and the IRGC complicate any deal, and US officials have drawn parallels to a brokered regime-change scenario. Other reports of direct talks and immunity offers to Iranian officials surface, leaving uncertainty over whether any dialogue will yield real concessions or is a tactic to ease pressure on oil prices.