Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks at a press convention in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 2, 2025.
Shadati | Xinhua Information Company | Getty Photos
Iran’s chief negotiator has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of staging “theater diplomacy,” as Washington and Tehran supply conflicting accounts of bilateral engagement geared toward ending their months-long hostilities.
“‘Large assault coming … wait, by no means thoughts, they need to negotiate.’ That is theater diplomacy on loop,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and high negotiator, wrote in a put up on X on Thursday in an obvious jibe at Trump.
The remarks got here days after Trump referred to as off deliberate strikes and stated the outlines of a deal had already been settled with Tehran. Iranian officers have rejected the declare, saying no talks have been underway.
The battle is in the meantime broadening throughout the area, with Gulf power infrastructure and key delivery chokepoints below renewed risk.
Saudi Arabia is bracing for “a number of coordinated assaults” by Iraqi militia factions working with Iran-backed Houthis, a Saudi official advised CNN. Intelligence reviews from Saudi Arabia and regional governments reportedly indicated that the teams deliberate to strike the dominion “within the very close to future” below the steering of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The warning got here a day after the Houthis claimed duty for assaults on two Saudi oil tankers within the Gulf of Aden, one other crucial delivery chokepoint. Saudi Arabia has come below Houthi missile hearth and drone assaults by Iran-backed Iraqi militias in current weeks.
Delivery by means of the area’s two crucial chokepoints has fallen sharply in current days. Solely two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, down from eight a day earlier, in accordance with Kpler vessel-tracking knowledge, towards a pre-war baseline of roughly 130 to 140 every day transits. Site visitors by means of the Bab el-Mandeb collapsed to a single dry bulk service, from 20 vessels the day gone by.
Flows by way of Hormuz are unlikely to return to pre-war ranges anytime quickly, even after a deal is reached between Oman and Iran for managing visitors by way of the crucial waterway.
U.S. and Israeli ships could be barred from the Strait of Hormuz below a draft plan involving Iran and Oman for managing the waterway, Tehran’s semi-official Fars information company reported Thursday, with restrictions extending to nations which have “precipitated injury” to Iran, till compensation is paid.
Iran additionally plans to difficulty penalties of as much as 20% of the worth of the cargo of those that violate the phrases of the settlement, which is presently below evaluation, in accordance with Fars.
Oil jumped on indicators of Tehran’s hardening stance on the Hormuz visitors. Brent crude futures for October supply gained 1.3% to $83.55 a barrel, whereas September futures for WTI crude rose about 1.1% to $78.17 on Friday, extending losses from a day earlier and reversing an earlier slide pushed by temporary optimism {that a} Hormuz deal was days away.
Earlier, regional officers stated that Iran and Oman have been near finalizing a framework overlaying all inbound visitors by way of Iranian territorial waters in addition to outbound visitors by means of a route nearer to Oman, although the association wouldn’t routinely reopen the waterway.
In a Fact Social put up on Thursday, Trump pushed again on reviews that U.S. munitions shares have been depleted by the battle. “The U.S. has large quantities of ‘munitions,’ particularly of sure sorts,” he stated, vowing to pursue “long-term jail sentences” for leakers.
CNN reported later within the day that, within the Oval Workplace, Trump acknowledged that sure munitions are in “tighter” provide, whereas insisting less-advanced weapons stay in nearly limitless provide.
