Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has issued contradictory statements regarding whether his government is conducting negotiations with the United States.

These conflicting reports highlight the tension between Iran's public hard-line posture and potential back-channel diplomacy. The discrepancy creates uncertainty about the current state of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington.

In some reports, Ghalibaf said there were no negotiations with the U.S. [1, 3]. He said the reports of such talks were "fake news" [1]. Another report cited him saying that there have been no negotiations with the United States [3].

However, other reporting presents a different narrative. In one instance, Ghalibaf said there has been progress in negotiations with the United States [2]. These statements were reported across different days, including a Monday, a Saturday, and a Friday [1, 2, 5].

The contradictions reflect a volatile diplomatic environment. While one set of comments seeks to refute rumors of back-channel talks to show Iran is not yielding to U.S. pressure, other comments suggest a possible opening for diplomatic engagement [1, 2].

The statements were made in Tehran, though they were disseminated through various international news outlets [1, 2, 3]. The lack of a unified message from the speaker's office suggests a complex internal strategy regarding how to communicate with both a domestic audience, and foreign powers.

“"These reports are fake news."”

The conflicting rhetoric from a high-ranking official like Ghalibaf suggests a dual-track strategy where Iran maintains a public image of defiance while potentially exploring diplomatic avenues. This ambiguity allows the Iranian government to gauge international reactions and maintain leverage without committing to a specific diplomatic path.