Mullah, you've been doing this too long, your cynicism is starting to show...
Do not say confirm, ever.
To the ATCOs on the thread (and sorry for the hijack), while I understand there's no place for the word "confirm" at the end of the read back clearance, I was under the impression the word itself was normally an accepted term: CAP 413 for example lists it under standard words and phrases as meaning "I request verification of: (clearance, instruction, action, information)". Can you confirm
Middle East controllers just have an aversion to the word in any context by now?