Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said on Thursday that President Trump was engaging in “theater diplomacy,” citing the US president’s many threats and climbdowns amid uncertainty over whether a deal between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz will be reached.
“‘Massive attack coming… wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop. Using bullying + broken promises + fake news as leverage is a failed strategy,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
“Acknowledge the facts and fulfill your commitments. We don’t need more theater,” the Iranian parliament speaker added.
Iranian officials have said that a deal with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz is close, but it won’t automatically mean the waterway will be open to all traffic.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said re-opening the strait would require the US to live up to its commitments under the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, which would include a lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports and the end of Israel’s war in Lebanon.
According to recent media reports, the potential Iran-Oman deal would involve inbound ships transiting the Strait on the Iranian side, while outbound ships leaving the Persian Gulf would remain close to Oman. Iranian officials have said it would involve “service fees,” while US officials have said there wouldn’t be any kind of toll.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday that a potential draft deal would ban US and Israeli shipping through the strait, and that the ban would apply to other countries involved in the war against Iran, a condition the Trump administration is sure to reject, though it doesn’t appear the US is involved in the negotiations at this stage despite claims from Trump.
