In response to the annual U.S. State of the Union address, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), has criticized what he described as "analyses and decisions based on incorrect information" by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a meeting with economic activists and members of guild and trade chambers in Tehran, Ghalibaf referenced a previous message to the American president, urging him to avoid "making wrong decisions based on false information." He contended that statements issued during the January events contained inaccurate claims, including talk of the fall of the city of Mashhad and repeated figures regarding casualty numbers.
The Speaker specifically labeled the circulated claim of "32,000 fallen" as incorrect, noting that this figure was repeated twice in the presidential address to Congress, which he characterized as reliance on inaccurate data.
Furthermore, Ghalibaf accused "the Zionist entity" of being behind attempts at a "coup or quasi-coup," stating that available documents indicate it was the "initiator and organizer" of such moves. He also pointed to direct intervention by the U.S. president during those events.
In related remarks, the parliament speaker asserted that "parties with a record of terrorist activities inside the country" are seeking to distort facts through "media campaigns and misleading information." He highlighted that Iran has suffered over 17,000 martyrs due to terrorist operations targeting both officials and civilians.
Addressing the nuclear issue, Ghalibaf reiterated Iran's stance, affirming that the country "is not seeking to possess nuclear weapons, has not been, and will never be." He noted that this position has been declared repeatedly by Iranian leadership in official occasions and international forums.
He concluded by emphasizing that the continuation of threats, despite Iran's transparency on this file, reflects a "miscalculation" by adversaries, asserting that the Iranian people "cannot be intimidated."