Trump touts Iran talks with hardline leader Mohammad Ghalibaf, but says 'we know where he lives'
In a wide-ranging telephone conversation with ABC News, President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed "we have complete regime change now" in Iran and said his administration is carrying out negotiations now with Iranian leaders who are "more moderate" and "much more reasonable."
While the administration has been relatively silent on the people involved on the Iranian side of the negotiations, Trump said his administration is speaking to the country's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Ghalibaf has been taunting the president on social media, but Trump said the new leadership is better than what Iran had before.
"Now we have a different group of people, and they are in control, but they're much more moderate and, I think, much more reasonable," he said.
Ghalibaf is known as a hardliner closely tied to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
On Sunday, he posted a statement on X chiding Trump over his messaging during the conflict, insinuating that the president was trying to manipulate the market.
"Heads-up: Pre-market so-called 'news' or 'Truth' is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it's a reverse indicator," he said. "Do the opposite: If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long. See something tomorrow? You know the drill."
Trump brushed off Ghalibaf's comments.
"I think if you notice, he's toned it down a lot. He's much better," he said.
Trump, however, also offered what appeared to be a threat pointed directly at Ghalibaf.
"We know where he lives. Let's put it that way," he said.
Trump suggested that the soaring stock market before the war made it "a good time to do it."
"The oil prices are going to go down. The stock market is going to go up. We had 50,000 [Dow Jones Industrial average] and we had 7,000 on the S&P. And I said, well, 'I guess this is a good time to do it.'"
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped by over 3,000 points and the S&P has dropped by nearly 500 points since the war began.
Global oil prices hovered around $117 a barrel on Tuesday, which amounted to a more than 50% price leap from pre-war levels.
Trump said that he's negotiating on seizing Iran's oil but didn't provide further details.
The president was also coy about any military planning for Cuba, which he has also threatened over the last couple of weeks.
"I assume, in an orderly fashion, you've got to kind of finish up whatever you do in Iran first," he said.
