Ghalibaf calls Trump’s threats and talks ‘theater diplomacy’
Iran’s parliament speaker criticized Trump after he cancelled planned strikes and claimed progress toward an agreement with Tehran.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused President Donald Trump of using “theater diplomacy” after Trump cancelled planned military strikes and said progress had been made toward an agreement with Tehran. In a post on X on August 6, Ghalibaf said the pattern of threats followed by offers of talks was an ineffective form of pressure, according to CBS News.
“Massive attack coming … wait, never mind, they want to negotiate,” Ghalibaf wrote, before calling it “theater diplomacy on loop.” He also accused the United States of using bullying, broken promises and false information as leverage, and urged Washington to acknowledge the facts and meet its commitments, CBS News and Al Jazeera reported.
What did Ghalibaf say about Trump’s diplomacy?
Ghalibaf’s post was directed at Trump’s shifts between warnings of military action and public claims that diplomacy was advancing. The Iranian speaker did not describe a confirmed agreement; he argued that the US approach would not succeed.
Al Jazeera reported that Trump called off a planned large-scale attack on Iran on the previous Saturday. Trump said Tehran and other regional countries had asked Washington to halt the strikes and claimed that “the perimeters of a deal” had been agreed.
Trump said the proposed arrangement would include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to what he described as Iran’s nuclear threat, according to Al Jazeera. Those were Trump’s stated terms, not a confirmed deal.
What was being discussed over the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran and Oman were also discussing a proposed framework for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said the arrangement was close to completion, CNN reported, though he cautioned that it would not automatically reopen the waterway.
The reporting described those Iran-Oman talks alongside Trump’s claimed terms for an agreement, without defining how the two efforts were related. Al Jazeera reported that Iranian and Omani officials had agreed on route coordinates through the strategic waterway.
Trump told reporters on August 6 that he was involved in negotiations with Iran and believed the conflict could end soon, according to Al Jazeera and CBS News. Iran, however, denied that it was holding direct negotiations with the United States, CNN reported.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for global energy shipments. CBS News reported that passage through it remained severely limited, with fewer than 10 vessels a day transiting the waterway from Sunday through Tuesday, citing maritime analytics firm Kpler.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.