TEHRAN: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused US President Donald Trump of pursuing “theater diplomacy” over Iran on Thursday.
He attacked Washington’s shifts between military threats and claims that negotiations were progressing. Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, called the approach “theater diplomacy on loop” in a post on X.
“Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate,” Ghalibaf wrote. He said threats, broken promises and false information had failed to create leverage.
Ghalibaf urged Washington to acknowledge facts and meet its commitments. Iranian state-linked Tasnim said the post appeared Thursday night, but it provided no precise posting time.
The agency published its report at 8:33am Tehran time Friday, or 10:03am PKT. His remarks followed Trump’s Saturday cancellation of planned large-scale strikes against Iran.
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Trump said regional governments and Tehran sought diplomacy after the outline of an agreement emerged. Iranian officials disputed his account and said Tehran was negotiating with Oman, not directly with Washington.
The disagreement has sharpened amid Strait of Hormuz negotiations and renewed Iran-US tensions. Iran and Oman said they were close to arrangements governing shipping routes through the waterway.
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Trump said Thursday that he was involved and expected the war to end soon. However, Tehran maintained that the current maritime discussions involved Oman rather than the United States, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
The United States and Iran signed an interim memorandum in June following months of conflict. The document extended their ceasefire and established a 60-day window for negotiations toward a final agreement.
It also linked phased Strait reopening with changes to Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports. Both governments said the memorandum was not a final settlement.
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Recent talks have focused on security guarantees, maritime access and the management of Hormuz shipping. The Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of global oil supplies before the current disruption.
Conflict-related restrictions have increased energy and trade pressures across the region. Ghalibaf’s statement did not reject negotiations or announce Iran’s withdrawal from the June memorandum.
It specifically challenged Trump’s portrayal of military restraint as the result of Iranian requests.
