Article Summary

This article explores the possibility of secret US-Iran negotiations, citing Donald Trump's claims of "productive conversations" with a senior Iranian official, widely believed to be Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. While the article notes denials from both the Iranian government and Ghalibaf, it persuades by presenting Trump's claims with an air of urgency and leaning on the authority of unnamed US and Israeli news outlets to suggest the talks are plausible. The article does a good job of presenting factual background on Ghalibaf himself, but it underplays the political consequences in Iran for an official to engage in unauthorized talks.