Iran Rebuts Trump's Theatre Diplomacy Accusation Amid Cancelled Strikes

Iran's Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf fired back at Donald Trump this week. The US president calls it "theatre diplomacy on loop." He claims Washington keeps switching from threats to offers as a failed pressure tactic. Ghalibaf made these remarks Thursday on social media. Just days earlier, Trump cancelled planned strikes. He said Tehran asked him to stop. He also claimed deal perimeters were already agreed with Iran.

Ghalibaf posted this exact quote on X. "'Massive attack coming…wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.' That's theater diplomacy on loop." He added that using bullying plus broken promises plus fake news as leverage is a failed strategy. Now he asks the US to acknowledge facts and fulfill commitments.

Trump cancelled those strikes Saturday. He said other regional countries asked him to call them off. A diplomatic breakthrough was supposedly close. The agreement would bring immediate, complete, and total opening of the Strait of Hormuz. That move should end what Trump calls Iran's nuclear threat.

Iran talks with Oman now to reopen that strait. Tehran claims a deal is on the verge of being finalised. Both nations agreed on route coordinates through critical waterway waters. The strait was free international passage before US and Israel struck Iran on February 29. That attack launched months-long regional war.

Now Iran asserts sovereignty over the waterway. Parts pass through Iranian territorial waters. Also parts pass through Omani territorial waters. Closure of the strait plus attacks on energy infrastructure sent oil prices soaring. Trump told reporters Thursday he believed war was close to an end. He promised petrol prices would drop when conflict ends.

"I think it's going to end pretty soon," Trump said in the Oval Office. "I don't think they can go much longer." He added he is involved in negotiations with Iran. He says talks are doing fine. Yet Iranian officials emphasize they are prepared for a long war. The gap between Washington and Tehran remains wide open.