Iran's Ghalibaf Dismisses Trump's Diplomacy as 'Theater on Loop'

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, watched the pattern repeat itself again this week: threats of massive military strikes, then a sudden reversal, then claims of imminent diplomatic breakthrough. On Thursday, he posted his frustration on social media in language that cut through the usual diplomatic fog. "Massive attack coming…wait, never mind, they want to negotiate," he wrote. "That's theater diplomacy on loop."

The accusation landed days after Donald Trump had once again cancelled planned military operations against Iran, this time asserting that the "perimeters of a deal" had already been hammered out with Tehran. Trump claimed the agreement would bring about the "immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT" and eliminate Iran's nuclear threat. But Ghalibaf saw something different in the pattern: a failed pressure tactic that cycled endlessly between military coercion and negotiating table, held together by what he called bullying, broken promises, and false narratives. He called on Washington to acknowledge reality and honor its commitments.

The Strait of Hormuz sits at the center of this standoff. Once a free international passage, it became a flashpoint after Israel and the United States launched coordinated attacks on Iran on February 28, triggering what has now stretched into months of regional warfare. In response, Tehran effectively closed the strait, asserting sovereignty over the waterway that runs partly through Iranian and Omani territorial waters. The closure, combined with attacks on energy infrastructure by both sides, sent oil prices climbing. Now Iran is negotiating with Oman to reopen the strait, with both countries having agreed on the coordinates of shipping routes. Tehran says a deal is on the verge of completion.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, expressed confidence that the conflict was nearing its end. "I think it's going to end pretty soon. I don't think they can go much longer," he said, adding that he personally was involved in the negotiations and believed progress was solid. He also predicted that oil prices would fall once the war concluded. This echoed months of similar declarations from the American president—assertions that Iran was already defeated, that the fighting was on the brink of resolution, that victory was near.

But Iranian officials have consistently signaled a different readiness. They have emphasized that they are prepared for a protracted conflict, not a quick capitulation. Ghalibaf's public rebuke this week was part of that message: the United States cannot simply oscillate between threats and offers and expect Iran to fold. The strategy, he suggested, was exhausted. What happens next depends on whether either side believes the other is serious about actually ending the war, or whether the cycle of canceled strikes and claimed breakthroughs will continue indefinitely.