Tay Keith, renowned for shaping some of the most iconic tracks of Drake and Travis Scott, has passed away at 29.

As reported by WSMV, the artist, whose real name is Brytavious Lakeith Chambers, was discovered lifeless in his Nashville, Tennessee residence on Thursday during a welfare check.

The Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed Chambers’ death, noting that there were no indications of foul play involved.

The exact cause of his death remains unknown.

Originating from Memphis, Chambers gained acclaim as a music producer, earning a Grammy nomination for his work on the 2018 hit “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott featuring Drake.

The song, which is featured on Scott’s critically acclaimed alum Astroworld, was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in 2019.

Tay Keith – the producer behind some of Drake and Travis Scott’s biggest rap hits – has reportedly died at the age of 29; seen in 2023

Chambers began pursuing a career in music producing when he was just 14 years old by publishing his original songs and remixes to YouTube.

His first big production project came in 2015 when he produced the lead single Lil B***h for rapper Blac Youngsta’s mixtape F**k Everybody.

He would not gain mainstream recognition until three years later in 2018 when he produced the viral hit Rover for friend and rapper BlocBoy JB.

Chambers also produced BlocBoy JB’s songs Shoot and Look Alive, which notably featured Chambers’s now-frequent collaborator Drake.

The success of BlocBoy JB’s songs opened major doors for Chambers in the industry, leading him to work with the likes of Scott and even rap legend Eminem.

In 2018, he produced Eminem’s Machine Gun Kelly diss track Not Alike and Drake’s single Nonstop.

However, Chambers’s biggest hit of 2018 was ultimately Sicko Mode, which helped Scott achieve his first-ever number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.

He co-produced Sicko Mode with Rogét Chahayed, Hit-Boy, OZ, Cubeatz and Mike Dean.

According to WSMV , the Grammy nominee – born Brytavious Lakeith Chambers – was found deceased at his Nashville apartment on Thursday following a wellness check; seen in 2024

Chambers is a Memphis-born music producer who became a Grammy nominee for co-producing Travis Scott’s 2018 track Sicko Mode featuring Drake; seen in 2024

It also became the first-ever hip hop song to spend at least 32 weeks in the chart’s top 10.

According to Billboard, this is a feat that has only ever been achieved by five other songs in the chart’s history.

Chambers has also produced songs for the likes of popular artists like Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Chris Brown. Gunna and Lil Baby.

Most recently, the superstar producer co-produced Brown’s latest album Brown with the likes of Metro Boomin and RoccStar. It was released in May of this year.

Chambers’s songs all feature one of two tag lines, with his most famous – and most explicit – being, ‘Tay Keith, f**k these n****s up!’

In wake of the news of Chambers’s death, many of his friends and collaborators have taken to social media to express their grief.

BlocBoy JB was among the first to pray tribute to the star’s legacy by sharing back-to-back posts on his Instagram Story.

He first posted a black screen with a single broken heart emoji on it before then sharing a throwback photos of himself and Chambers, who could be seen flipping off the camera.

Sicko Mode, which is featured on Scott’s critically acclaimed alum Astroworld , was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in 2019; Scott seen in 2024

Chambers also famously produced the 2018 Drake track Nonstop; Drake seen in 2021

‘Damn Cuz You Just Hurt Me Bad,’ BlocBoy JB captioned the photo.

He then posted a screen recording showing just how often he and Chambers spoke, with their last call taking place on June 16 – just two days before his death.

‘We talked everyday yeen tell me you was leaving,’ BlocBoy JB wrote as he scrolled through their lengthy call log for his nearly two million followers to see.

BlocBoy JB was so overcome with grief that he decided to postpone the release of his highly anticipated mixtape, which was set to be released Friday.  

Rap producer BanBwoi, who has made hits for Sexxy Red and Drake, shared his heartbreak via Instagram Story as he called Chambers a ‘real friend.’

He also praised the late producer for being ‘the standard’ in the music industry.

Neither Drake nor Travis Scott have publicly reacted to the news of Chambers’s death. 

On Thursday, President Trump awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor to two Vietnam War veterans and one Afghanistan War veteran, recognizing their extraordinary bravery and service. This ceremony, held at the White House, highlighted the heroic acts of retired Marine Corps Major James Capers Jr., retired Army Major Nicholas Dockery, and the late Marine Colonel John W. Ripley, who passed away in 2008.

The event was attended by notable figures including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, and Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, underscoring the significance of the occasion.

Major Capers, now 88 years old, was honored for his valiant actions during a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam between March and April of 1967. As recounted by the White House, his battalion faced a brutal ambush on the final day of the patrol, triggered by a claymore mine and ensuing heavy enemy gunfire, which left Capers with multiple gunshot wounds.

Retired Marine Corps Maj. James Capers

Capers, now 88, was part of a four-day reconnaissance patrol in Vietnam in March and April of 1967, according to the White House. On the final day of the patrol, his battalion was ambushed by a claymore mine and came under heavy enemy fire, during which he suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

“Shrapnel peppered his body in 17 places,” Mr. Trump said during the ceremony. “… Every one of his fellow Marines went down wounded, but Jim rose, pushing forward on a leg that shouldn’t have been able to carry any of his weight. After a shot of morphine, Jim asserted command of the firefight.”

Capers successfully led his team to an extraction site, where he refused to evacuate before all his men were safely aboard the rescue helicopter.

“When the helicopter groaned under the weight of the entire team, too many people, he attempted to deplane, but his team physically held him back, refusing to leave their leader behind,” Mr. Trump said.

Marine Col. John W. Ripley

In April 1972, Ripley halted a North Vietnamese assault while serving as an adviser to the South Vietnamese army, the White House said.

As part of what became known as the Easter Offensive — then the largest ground invasion since the start of the Vietnam War — the North Vietnamese army had pushed south in an attempt to capture a bridge in Dong Ha.

“As North Vietnamese forces surged through the north river bank, it became clear that the assault could only be stopped by destroying the bridge,” Mr. Trump said.

Ripley, the only soldier with sufficient demolition experience, single-handedly moved 500 pounds of explosives beneath the bridge over the course of several hours.

“Hand over hand, he climbed, dangling beneath the bridge, and over the rushing water…Completely exposed to withering enemy gunfire, John completed, not one, not two, but five such trips,” Mr. Trump said.

Ripley then successfully detonated the charges, destroying the bridge and preventing the North Vietnamese army from advancing.

“When John detonated the explosives, the bridge collapsed into the river, crushing the advance, and saved the hope of a free Vietnam for Easter morning,” Mr. Trump said.

Ripley was previously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions that day. His three sons and several other family members attended Thursday’s ceremony.

Retired Army Maj. Nicholas Dockery

Dockery was serving as a platoon leader in the Kapisa Province of Afghanistan in October 2012 when his platoon was ambushed by dozens of Taliban fighters, the White House said.

“The enemy unleashed overwhelming torrents of fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades,” Mr. Trump said during the ceremony. “Without concern for his own life at all, Nick raced across the open ground to rally his scattered team.”

Over the next four hours, Dockery fought the Taliban forces in urban terrain, risking his life several times. No one on his team was lost that day, the White House said. 

When he realized that one of his team members was missing, “Nick rushed through the compound until he found the sergeant being dragged through an alleyway by two Taliban fighters,” the president said.

Dockery killed the two Taliban fighters and rushed the sergeant to safety. When he discovered the sergeant was not breathing, Dockery began CPR, resuscitating the sergeant, Mr. Trump said.

He successfully evacuated three wounded members of his platoon after he climbed onto an open roof, making himself vulnerable to more enemy fire, and signaling U.S. military aircraft to “come to the platoon’s rescue.”

“He signaled enemy positions with smoke grenades, allowing American gunships to come to the platoon’s rescue,” Mr. Trump said, noting that Dockery was the “last man to depart the battlefield that day.”

However, in an unexpected turn of events, Luigi Mangione has retracted the psychiatric defense, which was poised to be a pivotal element in his forthcoming trial. This change was disclosed in new court documents released on Thursday.

Mangione’s attorneys submitted a succinct letter to Judge Gregory Carro, stating their decision to withdraw the previously filed notice of a psychiatric defense in the state case. The letter did not provide any reasons for this abrupt change in strategy.

This development follows two weeks of court proceedings focused on the defense strategy, which were conducted in private, prompting media organizations to protest and demand access to the records.

In a related decision on Thursday, Judge Carro decreed that the court’s prior order to seal specific transcripts, emails, and documents will remain in place, given Mangione’s withdrawal of the psychiatric defense notice.

Luigi Mangione appears at a pretrial hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on June 17, 2026. Mangione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Bryan Thompson in December 2024. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News)

The reversal marks a dramatic shift in a case that had raised the prospect of an “extreme emotional disturbance” defense — a strategy that, if accepted by jurors after a conviction, could reduce a murder verdict to first-degree manslaughter under New York law.

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Legal observers previously told News Media that pursuing such a defense would have required Mangione’s attorneys to convince jurors that he experienced a loss of self-control stemming from an intense emotional disturbance at the time Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan business conference.

Luigi Mangione appears in State Supreme Court in Manhattan during an evidence suppression hearing in his murder case on Dec. 12, 2025. (William Farrington/New York Post)

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have alleged that Mangione meticulously planned the killing for months, documenting his thoughts in journals and traveling across the country before ambushing Thompson in New York City.

The withdrawal leaves unanswered questions about what evidence or evaluations may have been developed behind closed doors — records that will now remain sealed under the judge’s order.

Mangione, 28, has pleaded not guilty and faces both state and federal prosecutions in the high-profile case. His New York murder trial is scheduled to begin in September, with federal proceedings expected to follow next year.

The once-unified collective of MAGA influencers, who fervently backed Donald Trump’s bid for a second term, is now riddled with suspicion and doubt.

This group of social media figures, who previously engaged in enthusiastic cross-promotion to champion Trump’s return to the presidency, now finds itself embroiled in distrust. Within this digital faction, many are questioning each other’s intentions and reasons for sharing content, insiders reveal to the Daily Mail.

Historically, this community has been a target for recruitment drives and financial incentives, but during Trump’s second term, the demand for paid endorsements surged dramatically.

As reported by sources to the Daily Mail, the power of these influencers can be bought; they are willing to broadcast messages to their vast audiences or even facilitate access to Trump, provided the price is right.

This burgeoning marketplace operates in a gray area where legalities and ethics are often overshadowed by accusations, with little regulation despite existing government guidelines aimed at oversight.

The White House is taking notice and has compiled a secret ‘blacklist’ of some of the worst-perceived actors.

‘I just have utter contempt for them, there’s a whole group of them, they share business, they refer each other, they inflate their connections, and they travel in packs,’ a source close to the White House told the Daily Mail. 

‘Some have made it their entire identity.’ 

MAGA Influencer Ryan Fournier was an early adopter of social media to promote President Trump

Influencer and political consultant CJ Pearson is known for throwing lavish parties in the Washington, DC area 

The White House closely tracks signs of paid influence, particularly when it targets the president.

When Trump announced a potential peace deal with Iran in May, several prominent influencers immediately attacked him online for conceding to Tehran – despite no details of the deal having been released. It raised alarm bells in the West Wing and has become all too familiar, Trump operatives revealed. 

In September, an unusual social media campaign saw influencers blast Trump’s tariffs on India as misguided. Another was exposed for attacking the administration’s push to stop food stamp recipients buying soda with their benefits. 

It was flagged by online MAGA ally Nick Sortor, who shared screenshots of payment offers made on behalf of the soda industry.

Among the alleged worst actors, according to a source close to the White House, are CJ Pearson, Rob Smith, Arynne Wexler, Emily Wilson (known as Emily Saves America) and Students for Trump co-founder Ryan Fournier – all one-time stars of the MAGA influencer world.

Some influencers claiming to work with the White House have contacted tech companies directly, inflating their connections to the president and his advisers. Others demand personal access to Trump in exchange for political favors.

White House digital staffers are exhausted by the drama, sources told the Daily Mail, noting that interactions can become toxic. 

After Trump’s 2024 reelection win, political consultants built MAGA ‘influence farms,’ recruiting top viral accounts to push political messaging for profit.

Influencer Emily Wilson of the account Emily Saves America 

Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is connected to several companies that offer influencers cash for posts and influence 

CJ Pearson posts a photo of himself with President Donald Trump 

The result, people familiar with influencer farms say, is some puzzling posts and endorsements.

Former Trump digital strategist Brad Parscale – once hailed as the tech genius behind Trump’s 2016 win – is connected to several influencer firms, including Influenceable, which works with the Daily Wire, Paramount and Angel Studios to boost interest in their content.

The pitch to influencers: share only the messaging you agree with, and get paid for it.

‘You’ve been doing this for free for so long, why not get paid to do something you love?’ one influencer familiar with recruiting strategies explained.

Sources in the industry told the Daily Mail that Fournier has a record of approaching influencers with proposals to share content for cash payments. Fournier declined a Daily Mail request for comment. 

The tells are familiar. An influencer suddenly emerges as an expert on an obscure political issue, armed with specific talking points. Or a pile-on: one person attacks a brand or individual, and similar images, videos and talking points immediately follow.

One suspected paid pile-on, sources told the Daily Mail, saw influencers call Harley-Davidson as ‘woke’ and ‘gay’ while praising Indian Motorcycle as an authentic company embodying American values. 

The campaign seemed too coordinated to be organic, sources say, as prominent figures on the right suddenly developed very strong opinions about motorcycles.

‘Indian Motorcycle gets it. 125 years. Zero agenda. Built in America,’ Emily Wilson posted on X alongside a video praising the company. Indian had recently hired Noise Media, an influencer firm connected to Parscale.

Prominent influencers ridiculed the ham-handed campaign, but the stakes are rising as accusations of paid foreign influence spread through the community.

Wilson responded sharply to claims she was paid by foreign interests: ‘Who pays me? I’m independent. Very easy to prove where my money comes from literally my brand deals I post. Nice try b***h,’ she wrote to one critic. 

She did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.

One influencer joked darkly that DC political consultants gossip daily about who is feeding information to or paying conservative activist Laura Loomer, whose unusual ‘scoops’ targeting powerful political and business interests sit alongside her frequent pro-Israel posts.

Loomer denied receiving payment for posts, telling the Daily Mail she has never been identified as a paid influencer for Israeli interests and simply shares her own views.

‘How does supporting Israel, like being in support of Israel’s right to defend itself, make me a foreign agent? I don’t take money from foreign governments,’ she said.

Loomer frequently brands critics of Israel as paid shills for Qatar.

MAGA influencer and comedian Arynne Wexler 

Prominent political influencers are beginning to accuse each other of trying to ‘grift’ off of the Trump brand  

Loomer has also questioned why Trump won’t take more drastic military action against Iran, criticizing his pursuit of a peace deal. 

‘I support the President, and I completely respect President Trump, but I don’t agree that you can negotiate with Islamic terrorists,’ she told the Daily Mail. 

Bruesewitz fired off several messages on social media on Thursday flagging online behavior suggesting that people opposed to President Trump’s deal with Iran were getting paid by outside firms paid by the Israeli government.

‘If someone is acting as an agent of a foreign government by coordinating efforts to influence U.S. officials or shape American public opinion, they are generally required to register and disclose that relationship under the Foreign Agents Registration Act,’ he said.

Last month, Bruesewitz publicly warned influencers he was tracking their online attacks against the president. 

‘We are aware of multiple foreign influencer campaigns and are actively tracking both the intermediary companies receiving these funds as pass-throughs and the influencers who are failing to disclose their compensation,’ he wrote. ‘We need far stricter disclosure laws for foreign influencer marketing ops.’

Bruesewitz told the Daily Mail he was not questioning Loomer, but other voices who appeared to be coordinating criticism of the president.

GOP Rep Anna Paulina Luna of Florida took notice. ‘I have confirmed this is true, and there are receipts,’ she replied on X, announcing that she would soon introduce legislation to regulate influencer transparency.

But some MAGA influencers felt Bruesewitz was the last person who should be raising the alarm, pointing to his travel to countries including Qatar.

Comedian Arynne Wexler fired back, telling her followers Bruesewitz should have ‘no place’ leading any investigation into foreign influence.

‘I want a full investigation, not one buried by a Qatari whore,’ she wrote on X, adding: ‘I have received zero dollars from foreign governments. Can you say the same?’

Alex Bruesewitz, co-founder and CEO of X Strategies found himself stranded in Doha in March after the war in Iran began, forcing him to find his way to Saudi Arabia where he chartered a private flight home for a group of fellow US travelers.

Political activist and self-described journalist Laura Loomer says she is not paid by foreign interests to attack Qatar and support Israel 

Bruesewitz told the Daily Mail he had visited Qatar twice: once as an invited speaker at the 2025 Doha Forum, where Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Jr also spoke, and once to attend the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix. 

He denied receiving any payment from the Qatari government or Qatari interests, and took no speaking fees.

Foreign countries have long invited influencers from both right and left on travel junkets to experience the best of their nations. 

The travel is usually paid for, but influencers are typically not required to post favorable coverage. Fawning reviews from sponsored trips, however, have raised suspicions that some deals involve more of an exchange.

‘I wasn’t aware of a great deal of things about Qatar, only misperceptions and half-truths I’d read about online,’ influencer Rob Smith posted in a glowing review while visiting the country on a junket. Smith did not return a request for comment.

Israel is also ramping up influencer travel as part of a government-wide push to improve its public image. ‘I’ve been offered countless trips to Israel,’ one MAGA influencer told the Daily Mail, saying he turned them all down. 

Other consultants and influencers say they have likewise declined lucrative offers from foreign interests.

But not everyone is passing.

Parscale’s firm has already received $15 million from Havas Media Network, an international media company working on behalf of the Israeli state, and is expected to receive a further $4.5 million a month between April 1 and October 31, a total of $46.5 million, according to FARA documents.

Influencer Rob Smith shared a glowing review from his trip to Qatar 

Comedian Arynne Wexler signals her support for Trump’s MAGA agenda in a message to her fans on Instagram 

Parscale did not return a request for comment.

Influencer CJ Pearson has registered as a foreign agent representing the Bahamas, but denies posting content to support foreign interests.

‘CJ is not paid to post for or against any foreign nation,’ a spokesman told the Daily Mail, describing his work for the Bahamas as fully disclosed. ‘As a proud American, CJ follows the law. Therefore, in compliance with FARA, he registered.’

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, individuals acting in an advocacy capacity must disclose their ties to foreign interests. 

Those filings have left the influencer community fully aware of paid campaigns to support Israel: an October FARA filing revealed the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocating up to $900,000 to communications firm Bridges Partners for the ‘Esther Project,’ a campaign to post pro-Israel content.

But while the third-party firms that recruit influencers are disclosed, the identities of the influencers they pay are not – a widely understood loophole.

‘You’re not getting a check directly from Qatar or the state of Israel, but through intermediaries that give you plausible deniability,’ one influencer said.

Efforts by countries like Russia, China, Qatar, Turkey and Iran, influencers say, are more subversive still and don’t play by the rules.

Wexler told the Daily Mail that Qatar – not Israel – is the worst actor in the space. ‘Qatari money is everything they claim Jewish money is,’ she said. ‘I don’t take money from Israel, I donate to Israel.’

The opacity has blown up into a full-scale war, with rival influencers insisting their ideological opponents are paid shills for foreign powers. That leaves pro-Israel voices at a particular disadvantage: even authentic support for Israel and its wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran is now viewed with suspicion online.

And the campaigns are getting harder to spot. Some firms now recruit political figures already aligned on an issue and pay them to craft their own messaging – no scripted talking points required.

Many in the community have publicly called for reform or pitched policy fixes to members of Congress. Luna’s bill will be the first to address the issue, but other members are weighing hearings and legislation of their own, sources told the Daily Mail.

‘I want all foreign influencer campaigns to end,’ Bruesewitz said. ‘If Qatar is doing it I want it to stop, if Israel is doing it I want it to stop, if India, Russia, China is doing it, I want it to stop, that’s my position.’

Until then, suspicions and accusations will keep flying over whether one-time friends and allies can be trusted – or whether they are bought and paid for.

Iran’s hardline parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has issued a stern warning that Tehran will not fulfill its obligations under a newly signed agreement with the U.S. if Washington fails to meet its own commitments. This statement was reported by the media branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“If the United States does not honor its commitments, Iran will not uphold its own,” Ghalibaf asserted, as quoted by the outlet.

The warning was reiterated on Thursday by Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. In a statement translated by MEMRI TV, Qaani cautioned the U.S. to “know their place and avoid confronting the Muslims.”

Further intensifying his message, Qaani declared, “Trump is trembling,” and cautioned the U.S. to be wary of not just the strategic locations of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, but several other areas too.

These warnings followed the digital signing of a memorandum by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday, which aims to bring an end to hostilities and reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s hardline parliament speaker and key negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Tehran would not honor its commitments under a newly signed memorandum with the U.S. if Washington fails to uphold its side of the deal.  (Majid Asgaripour/WANA)

The memorandum gives Iran major economic relief while leaving some of the most difficult nuclear questions for a final agreement to be negotiated throughout the next 60 days. Under the 14-point plan read by a senior U.S. official, Washington agreed to begin lifting its naval blockade, work with regional partners on a $300 billion reconstruction and development plan for Iran, and terminate U.S., U.N. and other sanctions on an agreed schedule as part of a final deal. 

The memorandum also says all licenses, waivers and permissions needed for related financial transactions would be granted by the United States.

In return, Iran reaffirmed that it “shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons,” and the two sides agreed to resolve the fate of Iran’s stockpiled enriched material under a future mechanism, with the minimum method being on-site down-blending under International Atomic Energy Agency supervision. 

The agreement defers many of the hardest questions — including how to wind down Iran’s nuclear program — until the 60-day negotiation period for a final deal.

But the Iranian figure at the center of the deal is not a diplomat known for moderation. 

Ghalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander and longtime regime insider, has threatened American forces, vowed Trump would “pay the price” and built his career through loyalty to Iran’s security establishment.

The new warning underscored what experts say is the central risk of the agreement: Washington may be entering a deal with officials who can enforce Iran’s commitments, but who have shown little sign of changing the regime’s long-term posture toward the U.S., Israel or the region. 

Ghalibaf, 64, is a product of Iran’s security establishment. He rose through the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the Iran-Iraq War, eventually becoming commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force. 

He later served as Iran’s national police chief, overseeing internal security forces responsible for suppressing protests, including the 1999 student uprising, alongside Qassem Soleimani.

After transitioning into politics, Ghalibaf attempted to run for president multiple times but failed. He instead built his career through loyalty to the system, serving as Tehran’s mayor for more than a decade before becoming speaker of parliament in 2020.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf looks on as parliament members wearing military uniforms chant in support of the IRGC in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 1, 2026. (Hamed Malekpour/Islamic consultative assembly news agency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)

“Ghalibaf doesn’t have an independent line. His strength is that he is a ‘yes man,’” Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, previously told News Media. “If he is told to shake hands with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, he will do it. If he is told to escalate, he will. It is not about moderation, it is about who gives the orders.”

“His name has also been linked to multiple corruption allegations, including misuse of oil revenues and sanctions evasion networks involving his family. His sons have reportedly been involved and are under sanctions,” Sabti said, adding, “There have also been public scandals involving family members traveling abroad and making luxury purchases, including widely circulated images of them arriving with numerous high-end Gucci suitcases.”

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the image of Ghalibaf at a signing ceremony with a senior U.S. official would be a propaganda victory for the regime.

“There was a time when the Islamic Republic would have been terrified to be seen signing such a thing,” Ben Taleblu told News Media. “Post-war, this is a sign of the regime’s opportunism, and no one identifies that opportunism better than someone like Ghalibaf, who comes from the IRGC, who is a corrupt politician and is a wheeler and dealer.”

But Taleblu warned that Washington should not confuse Ghalibaf’s opportunism with moderation. 

“The mirage is the myth of Iranian military moderation and the myth that, with time, this regime will integrate and put aside all the things that have kept it on the sidelines for so long,” he said. “Transforming Iran via a deal — that is a huge lift.”

Ghalibaf’s wartime statements reflect the hardline posture inside Iran’s leadership. In remarks aired on Iranian television on Jan. 12 and translated by MEMRI, he warned that U.S. forces would face catastrophic consequences if they confronted Iran.

“Come, so you can see what catastrophe befalls American bases, ships and forces,” he said, adding that American troops would be “burned by the fire of Iran’s defenders.”

A man lights a cigarette with fire from a burning picture of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as Israelis rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran in Holon, Israel, on Jan. 14, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

More recently, he warned that “the blood of American soldiers is the personal responsibility of Trump,” and vowed Iran would “settle accounts with the Americans and Israelis,” adding that “Trump and Netanyahu crossed our red lines and will pay the price.”

John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and a former national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, said Ghalibaf’s expected role reflects the reality of who holds power inside Iran. 

“If you’re going to sign an agreement with Iran, those are the forces in charge and calling the shots, presumably with the approval of the new Supreme Leader,” Hannah told News Media. “If the U.S. harbors hope that Iran will ever implement any of their obligations under the MOU, these are the people — odious as they are — capable of making it happen.”

But Hannah said the central question is whether Iran’s leadership sees compliance as useful, or whether the agreement is simply a tactical pause.

“The big question is whether they see it in their interest to do so, or are they only buying time, rebuilding their power and preparing for the next round of conflict,” he said.

Ben Taleblu was even more blunt, warning that even a seemingly favorable agreement would not change the nature of the regime.

“Even if you’ve got the perfect deal, with this kind of regime, with this kind of mentality, they will escalate,” he said. “I thought we would have learned by now what the regime did after the JCPOA. It built a vast missile arsenal. It literally built an empire of terror proxies that took Israel years of blood, effort and money to dismantle, backed by American support.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 27, 2024. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

“If we engage in pay-to-play with these guys,” he added, “I’m sorry to sound the alarm bell like this — but something tells me this is bad either way.”

News Media reached out to the White House for comment. 

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Renowned British sportscaster Jim White shared on Thursday that he was “knocked over” by a police officer as he attempted to navigate through the bustling Knicks’ championship parade.

Currently working with talkSPORT following a distinguished career at Sky Sports, White was en route to his “White and Jordan” show when he encountered the “pandemonium” that had taken over the streets.

In an effort to reach his studio located at the World Trade Center, he opted to jump a barrier—a choice that quickly led to complications.

“I was knocked down by an officer from the NYPD,” he recounted on talkSPORT. “They warned me, saying, ‘If you try that again, you’ll be under arrest.’

Despite the initial mishap, White, 69, managed to charm the officer by explaining his role as the host of a popular radio program.

The cop, named Vinny, then escorted White through the traffic so he could get to his studio.

White even posed for a picture with the police officer and posted a picture of them together to X.

“A massive thanks to this senior NYPD officer who kindly guided me through strict security at the New York Knicks NBA Championship winning parade this morning!” he wrote.

“He got on me on air at @talkSPORT and I’m forever grateful!”

White has brought his radio show to New York for the World Cup.

The Scotsman was able to celebrate his country’s first win in the tournament since 1990 when they defeated Haiti on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Knicks’ championship parade brought nearly 2 million fans to the streets as the franchise celebrated its first title since 1953.