Recent media reports indicate that President Donald Trump claims the United States has
been holding talks with a “respected” Iranian leader, with leaked information suggesting
this person is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Based on his record, we are deeply concerned
about this possibility.
As Iranians living abroad and inside Iran, many of us have personally experienced or
witnessed the effects of corruption, repression, and lack of freedom under the current
regime. We strongly believe that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf does not represent the
Iranian people and is not a suitable leader for our nation.

1. He is a high-ranking IRGC General
He is a high-ranking IRGC General, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization,
making it unacceptable for him to be treated as a representative of the Iranian people in
foreign negotiations.

2. Corruption and hypocrisy
Ghalibaf’s family has been linked to luxury purchases abroad, including a trip to Turkey for
baby supplies, while whistleblowers like Vahid Ashtari are imprisoned or banned from
social media. These incidents highlight the hypocrisy of leaders living lavishly while
ordinary Iranians struggle, even though buying baby essentials itself is not a crime. 
During his time as Mayor of Tehran, Ghalibaf sold valuable public properties to family
members at artificially low prices, and when journalist Yashar Soltani exposed this
corruption, he was imprisoned instead of Ghalibaf being held accountable.

3. Smuggling and illegal activity
Ghalibaf has been accused of assisting drug and fuel smuggling operations with campaign
support from those involved, as revealed during his presidential campaign by Hassan
Rouhani, showing a clear pattern of profiting from illegal and unethical activity.

4. Human rights abuses
In July 1999, during protests at Tehran University, Ghalibaf, then commander of the IRGC
Aerospace Force, ordered security forces to suppress student demonstrations. This
resulted in beatings, arrests, torture, and at least 8 deaths, with others like Saeed Zeinali
missing for over 20 years. Video footage shows students being blindfolded, tied, and
thrown from rooftops, demonstrating cold-blooded repression.

For these reasons, we the undersigned reject Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a
representative of the Iranian people. His history of corruption, human rights abuses, and
ties to the IRGC make him unfit for leadership. We cannot trust anyone in this regime
whose hands are stained with the blood of innocent citizens.
We call on the international community, as well as Iranians worldwide, to recognize that
Ghalibaf does not speak for us and should not be treated as a legitimate leader of Iran.

Sources for the information cited in this petition are listed below. Some may not be in
English, but they can be easily translated.

https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-qalibaf-shopping-spree-turkey/31816829.html

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/who-is-qalibaf-iran-s-new-parliament-speaker-ghalibaf/30639559.html

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/why-irgc-s-increasing-influence-in-iran-s-parliament-is-significant-/30652936.html

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-in-alleged-financial-irregularities-at-tehran-municipality/30799504.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Iranian_student_protests

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