Speaker Qalibaf: US Strategy Of Bullying And Broken Promises Has Failed

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has dismissed Washington’s recent maneuvers as empty “theatre diplomacy,” declaring that the United States’ strategy of threats, broken promises and fabricated narratives has failed and that Tehran will not engage in further theatrics.

In a post on X on Thursday evening, Qalibaf pointed to the rapid shift from threats of a “massive attack” to sudden calls for negotiation, describing it as a recurring pattern of insincere diplomacy.

“‘Massive attack coming… wait, never mind, they want to negotiate.’ That’s theater diplomacy on loop,” he wrote.

Qalibaf stressed that reliance on bullying, unfulfilled commitments and fake news as tools of pressure constitutes a failed approach. He called on the other side to acknowledge established facts and honor previous ceasefire commitments rather than continue the cycle of empty threats and sudden reversals.

“Using bullying + broken promises + fake news as leverage is a failed strategy. Acknowledge the facts and fulfill your commitments. We don’t need more theater,” the speaker stated.

The remarks come as Iranian officials continue to underline the Islamic Republic’s principled stance in the face of external pressure, insisting that genuine diplomacy requires honesty and adherence to prior agreements rather than staged displays of force followed by abrupt retreats.

The US and the Israeli regime jointly launched an unprovoked aggression against Iran on February 28 by targeting Iran’s top officials and also an elementary school in Minab, south of the country, killing 168 children, teachers, and parents.

In response, Iranian armed forces launched powerful reprisal attacks against US and Israeli assets in the region, dealing heavy blows to the invading coalition. The war came to a halt after 40 days with a ceasefire, which was then formalized in mid June by signing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding by the presidents of Iran and the US.

However, just weeks following signing the document, the US started violating the terms of the understanding, igniting another round of war during which the US targeted civilian infrastructure across southern Iranian provinces. Iran responded by launching precision strikes, using home-made missiles and drones, against US bases across West Asia, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to launch a major strike against Iran last week, including on the country’s energy infrastructure; however, he later backed down partly due to the lack of needed stockpiles to counter Iran’s reprisal attacks.