Ex-WSJ Editor Gives Damning Verdict on Trump’s Latest Iran Claims: ‘We Have Become Baghdad Bob’
Iranian officials have twice denied that any negotiations with the U.S. have occurred, contradicting the U.S. president’s claims.
A prominent journalist at two right-leaning outlets has compared President Donald Trump’s Iran war messaging to that of Saddam Hussein’s notorious chief spokesperson during the invasion of Iraq, “Baghdad Bob.”
Gerard Baker, a Fox News contributor and the former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief compared Trump to Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq’s minister of information during the 2003 U.S. invasion. He earned the nicknames “Baghdad Bob” and “Comical Ali” in the west due to colorfully delivered and optimistic but wildly inaccurate statements about the ongoing war.
Baker, now editor-at-large for the WSJ and a columnist for British newspaper The Times, made the comparison after a back-and-forth between Trump and Iran concerning the state of negotiations left people on both sides of the conflict confused.
In a long, all caps Truth Social post, Trump declared that “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
He continued: “BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
However, Iran’s state-controlled media disputed Trump’s claims, insisting that there “has been no direct or indirect contact” between Washington, D.C. and Tehran. It further claimed that Trump “backed down” after Iran threatened to attack “all power plants in West Asia.”
“The US President’s statements are within the framework of efforts to reduce energy prices and gain time to implement his military plans,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “There are initiatives by regional countries to de-escalate tensions, and our response to all of them is clear: We are not the party that started this war, and all these requests should be referred to Washington.”
That’s when Baker stepped in. The veteran journalist suggested the messaging coming from Iran might be more credible than Trump’s Truth Social post.
“The unsettling reality is that with this president, Americans in wartime are in the unprecedented position of having to suspect that the enemy’s version of events is more likely to be true than our own,” he wrote after Iran denied Trump’s claims. “We have become Baghdad Bob.”
Along the same lines, Edward Luce, associate editor of the Financial Times, tweeted: “Strange situation where we await a statement from Iran to check whether there’s any truth to what US president is saying.”
Another wrinkle was added to the story on Monday morning, when U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed in comments to the U.K. Parliament’s Liaison Select Committee that talks between Trump’s representatives in the region and Iranian officials did occur and that his government had been aware they were happening.
However, Iran’s parliament speaker denied on Monday that any negotiations had occurred.
During the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, al-Sahhaf became famous around the world as he gave international news crews optimistic but far-fetched predictions of imminent Iraqi victory, claiming that invading forces were ‘committing suicide under the walls of Baghdad” and that “we are destroying them.” However, Saddam’s armed resistance lasted just 43 days, although violence continued in the country for years.
Al-Sahhaf, now 85, went into hiding after the U.S. victory he had so often predicted would not happen. He was captured by coalition forces but was not charged with any offenses. He went on to work as a commentator for Abu Dhabi TV in 2004, and by 2008 had taken up residence somewhere in the United Arab Emirates, according to The Times.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.