Iranian parliament speaker hits back at Trump over claim country 'needs food' from US

TEHRAN, IRAN: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf pushed back sharply at President Donald Trump on Thursday after Trump said the United States hoped to export food commodities to Iran as part of a potential diplomatic breakthrough, with Ghalibaf accusing the president of projecting America's own domestic challenges onto Tehran.

The exchange came after Trump described Iran's economic situation in stark terms during a CNBC interview, claiming the country has been severely weakened by sanctions and military pressure.

Trump says Iran has agreed to 'just about everything'

In a post on X, Ghalibaf wrote, "Imagine having forty-something million of your own citizens on food stamps and calling another nation hungry. This is not a proclamation. This is a projection. Keep your SNAP advice.”

"He added, "Our assets, our choices. Mind your malnutrition rates."

"They have 300 per cent inflation, they're making no money," Trump said, before suggesting the US could help address the situation.

"They need food. They need corn, wheat, and soybeans, and we're going to have exclusively our American farmers provide that. Assuming we get to the position where we should get to," Trump said.

Trump also expressed confidence about the current state of diplomatic talks with Tehran, saying Iran had conceded to nearly all American conditions.

"I think they've agreed to just about everything we need," he said, while reiterating that the primary objective of the negotiations remains preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Exchange reflects wider tensions despite ongoing talks

Ghalibaf's response underscored the difficulty of managing public messaging on both sides while diplomatic talks continue behind closed doors.

The Iranian parliament speaker is a prominent political figure in Tehran and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his posts on X are closely watched as a reflection of hardline sentiment within the Iranian political establishment.

According to CBS News, the Trump administration said that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, is losing billions of dollars because of payment errors it characterises as "fraud, waste and abuse."

However, anti-hunger advocates say that description is misleading and could threaten food assistance for millions of low-income families.

CBS News reported that the US Department of Agriculture said on June 24 that the food-stamp programme's payment error rate was 10.6 per cent for fiscal year 2025, almost double the 6 per cent threshold established as acceptable under the Republicans' 2025 "big, beautiful bill act".

The error rate last year amounted to more than USD 10 billion in improper SNAP payments across the US, the agency said.

Trump's suggestion that American farmers would exclusively supply Iran's food needs, should a deal be reached, appeared designed as much as a domestic economic message as a diplomatic one, framing any potential agreement as a direct benefit to the US agricultural sector.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Ghalibaf's remarks.