Iran’s clerical regime is scrambling to contain a diplomatic embarrassment after Kazem Gharibabadi, a top official and member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, was caught pocketing a luxury gold-plated pen during recent talks in Muscat, Oman. The incident, first reported by Times of Oman, has since seemingly disappeared from public record—possibly due to behind-the-scenes diplomatic pressure—but the regime’s own semi-official press has already confirmed the details, making Tehran’s subsequent denials look absurd.
According to Hafte Sobh, a regime-aligned Iranian newspaper, “at the end of yesterday’s negotiations, Mr. Kazem Gharibabadi mistakenly put the gold fountain pen—placed on the negotiation table by the host country as per usual protocol—into his pocket.” The paper admitted that the item was valued at over $14,000 due to its gold craftsmanship and attributed the act to a “habitual gesture” of Gharibabadi placing pens in his pocket. Despite the embarrassing optics, Iran’s ambassador to Oman, Mousa Farhang, issued an official apology to Omani authorities and assured them that “the pen in question will be returned via our embassy in Muscat.”
While Hafte Sobh sought to downplay the incident as a “harmless mistake,” state-run media outlets launched a furious campaign to deny the entire affair. Mizan News Agency and Nour News, both affiliated with Iran’s judiciary and security apparatus, blamed the story on the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK/PMOI), labeling it a “psychological operation” by “enemy media.” Mizan cited a Foreign Ministry source who called the story “a fabrication… intended to discredit Iran’s diplomats and manipulate public opinion.” Similarly, Nour News claimed that “no such report exists in Omani media” and described the allegation as “a fake news scenario orchestrated by hostile opposition groups.”
Freed #Iranian Terrorist Bomber Accuses European Countries of #HumanRights Abuseshttps://t.co/uARYEMSqT3
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However, this narrative collapses under its own weight. The apology by the Iranian ambassador and the confirmation published by Hafte Sobh directly contradict the regime’s official denials. The clerical dictatorship’s attempt to blame its critics for a scandal of its own making exposes both the fragility of its public relations machinery and the hollowness of its so-called “active diplomacy.”
Gharibabadi, who previously served as deputy head of Iran’s judiciary and its representative to international organizations in Vienna, is a controversial figure known for defending the regime’s repression and helping secure the release of convicted regime agents in Europe, including Assadollah Assadi and Hamid Noury. The irony of such a figure being caught red-handed with a stolen luxury item in the middle of sensitive nuclear talks only reinforces the international community’s skepticism toward the integrity of the regime’s negotiating team.
As the clerical regime scrambles to rewrite reality, even a misplaced pen becomes a symbol of Tehran’s broader dysfunction—a regime so mired in dishonesty that it cannot manage damage control without contradicting its own press.