New Delhi, March 25 -- Long before he became Iran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went on a charm offensive for almost two decades, portraying himself as a hard-liner the West could do business with in the Islamic Republic.

"I would like the West to change its attitude to Iran and trust Iran, and rest assured that there's an attitude in Iran to advance issues through dialogue," he told London-based newspaper The Times in 2008.

With the war in its fourth week after the joint U.S-Israeli strikes on Iran started last month, the 64-year-old pilot and former Revolutionary Guard commander has denied that there have been discussions with the United States amid reports that he was floated as Washington's negotiating partner in ...