Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf delivered a speech Thursday in Baku admitting severe losses — over 3,000 dead and 30,000 wounded, destruction of critical infrastructure — while still describing the US-Iran agreement as a 'declaration of defeat' for America, according to Iranian opposition reporting. Ghalibaf also appealed for Gulf investment in reconstruction, calling for regional partnerships.
In a Thursday speech at the Parliamentary Union of Islamic Cooperation (PUIC) conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf offered a remarkably detailed accounting of the toll of what he called the 'Forty-Day War,' while simultaneously asserting the Islamabad MOU with the US as a historic victory. According to opposition-affiliated reporting, Ghalibaf admitted to over 3,000 civilian deaths and more than 30,000 wounded, the destruction of industrial, medical, energy, and transportation infrastructure, and the killings of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as well as senior military and political figures.
Ghalibaf then pivoted to spin: he framed the ceasefire as a direct result of Iranian 'resistance' that forced America to capitulate. He deflected criticism that Tehran abandoned its proxies, insisting Iran 'did not leave our friends alone' and that the Lebanon ceasefire was equally important. As The Zioneer has reported, this contradiction between admissions of massive damage and claims of victory has become a hallmark of regime messaging.
The most notable section of the speech was Ghalibaf's appeal to wealthy Gulf Arab states for investment. He offered future 'interaction and coexistence' and proposed 'viable security agreements through economic cooperation.' This is widely viewed as an acknowledgment of Iran's economic collapse and inability to fund its own reconstruction, dressed in the language of Islamic brotherhood.
The speech is drawn from a single opposition-affiliated source; its specific figures and framing — particularly the 3,000 dead and 30,000 wounded figure — have not been independently confirmed by state media or multiple sources. The address extends Ghalibaf's weeklong pattern of giving hardline speeches that mix defeat narrative with triumphalist messaging.
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