Iran's Ghalibaf accuses Trump of conducting show diplomacy 'on loop'

Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator has accused Donald Trump of conducting "theatre diplomacy on loop" after the United States president's repeated claims that he was ordering attacks on Iran, and then calling them off. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made the remarks in a social media post on Thursday [Aug 6], just days after Trump called off his latest planned strikes, claiming that "the perimeters of a deal" had already been agreed to with Tehran. Dismissing the narrative, Ghalibaf said that Washington keeps switching from military threats to offers of negotiation as a failed pressure tactic. "'Massive attack coming...wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.' That's theater diplomacy on loop," Ghalibaf wrote on X. "Using bullying + broken promises + fake news as leverage is a failed strategy." He called on the US to "acknowledge the facts" and fulfil its commitments. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believed the war on Iran was close to an end, promising that petrol prices would drop when the conflict is over. "I think it's going to end pretty soon. I don't think they can go much longer," he said in the Oval Office. He added that he is involved in the negotiations with Tehran. "I think we're doing fine," Trump said. Trump has been asserting for months that Iran is already defeated and that the conflict is on the verge of ending. Iranian officials, however, have emphasised that they are prepared for a long war.