Iranian Parliament Speaker Defends U.S. Talks as Necessary to Stop More Bloodshed in Lebanon

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is facing growing criticism in Tehran over talks with the United States and a memorandum of understanding signed with Washington. In a post on X, he argued that Iran’s participation in the Swiss talks was meant to prevent further bloodshed in Lebanon.

Ghalibaf said he had heard commentators on an Iranian television program say they wished Mehrabad Airport would be shut down so the negotiating team could not fly to Switzerland. He responded, “I tell them, if we had not gone to Switzerland, at every moment more blood would have been spilled from the Muslims and Shiites of Lebanon.”

His remarks highlight the internal struggle inside Iran over the U.S. engagement. Conservative and hawkish figures are criticizing the very fact that talks with Washington took place, while Ghalibaf is trying to frame the move as a necessary step to halt escalation in Lebanon and avoid further casualties in a region that Tehran sees as especially sensitive.