Born to Kurdish-Persian parents in 1961 near Mashhad, a Shiite pilgrim hub in Iran’s northeast, Ghalibaf is an expert in human and political geography. He married Zahra Sadat Moshir in 1982 – their wedding officiated by Khomenei – and has three children. CNN described him as a ‘war veteran with a record of suppressing dissent’, marking him out straight away as a choice at odds with Trump’s professed support for civilians targeted by the Iranian regime in the December-January protests. But his standing for presidential elections five times between 2005 and 2024 indicates he is looking for a position of power, and could, therefore, be open to cutting a deal with Washington.
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