AFP, Paris

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has stepped into the spotlight as a central figure in the Islamic Republic’s leadership following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the US-Israeli war. A veteran of Iran’s establishment for three decades, the 64-year-old former Revolutionary Guards commander and Tehran mayor has become the public face of both Iran’s war effort and its diplomacy.

Ghalibaf led high-stakes negotiations that produced yesterday’s agreement to halt hostilities, after surviving weeks of attacks that killed Khamenei, senior official Ali Larijani, and others. His first major public appearance came in April, when he headed Iran’s delegation in Islamabad for talks with US Vice President JD Vance — the highest-level contact between the two nations since 1979. Images circulated by Iranian embassies showed him animated at the table, overshadowing Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Analysts say Ghalibaf’s prominence reflects both his ambition and Iran’s uncertain leadership transition.