White House disputes Iranian claims of Hormuz closure, discusses two-week ceasefire

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said April 8 that U.S. officials have seen increased traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, disputing Iranian reports that the critical shipping route remained closed following the recently announced two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Leavitt also announced that Vice President JD Vance will lead negotiations with Iran on April 11 and said the administration is actively weighing U.S. withdrawal from NATO.

“Again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different privately,” Leavitt told reporters. “We have seen an uptick of traffic in the Strait today. And I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly, and safely. That is his expectation. It has been relayed to him privately that that is what's taking place, and these reports publicly are false.”

Iran’s state media had reported earlier in the day that Iran had closed the strait — a narrow chokepoint that carries roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments — in retaliation for continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Hours later, Vance told reporters in Budapest that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon.

Leavitt also rejected claims that the Trump administration had accepted Iranian demands in reaching the ceasefire, saying Iran’s initial 10-point plan was “literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team.” 

She said that as of Trump’s 8 p.m. ET deadline on April 7, Iran “acknowledged reality” and put forward a “more reasonable and entirely different” plan that now serves as “a workable basis” for negotiations with the regime. 

“The President's red lines, namely the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran, have not changed, and the idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wishlist as a deal is completely absurd,” she said. “The President will only make a deal that serves in the best interest of the United States of America.”

Vance will lead the first round of talks with Iran in Islamabad, joined by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Leavitt said. 

In a Truth Social post earlier in the day, Trump similarly dismissed reports about proposed agreements, writing that there are “Numerous Agreements, Lists, and Letters” being reported that are inaccurate.

“There is only one group of meaningful ‘POINTS’ that are acceptable to the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during these Negotiations,” he said. “These are the POINTS that are the basis on which we agreed to a CEASEFIRE.”

According to The New York Times, Iranian state media had reported that its proposal included the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from all bases in the region, an end to sanctions, and continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz — terms that conflict with stated U.S. demands.

During the press conference, Leavitt framed the ceasefire — conditional on safe reopening of the strait — as a “victory” for the U.S. “that the President of the United States and our incredible military made happen.” 

She said U.S. strikes “destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base,” set its ballistic missiles and long-range drone programs back “by years,” annihilated the Iranian Navy, and made the Iranian Air Force “functionally and operationally irrelevant.” She added that Iran’s ability to fund its terrorist proxies “has been greatly reduced,” weapons distribution halted, and said the regime “will not be able to acquire nuclear weapons.”

The press secretary also honored the 13 Americans killed during the war, saying that Trump “and our grateful nation honors their ultimate sacrifice, and we will never forget them.” 

Separately, Leavitt said Trump is continuing to weigh U.S. participation in NATO and plans to raise the issue in a meeting later April 8 with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Relaying a quote from Trump: “They were tested, and they failed.” In her own words, Leavitt added that “it’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks.”

She also defended Trump’s April 7 threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not agree to a deal with the U.S. Several Catholic leaders, including CatholicVote and Pope Leo XIV, had condemned the President’s violent rhetoric. 

Leavitt told reporters that Trump’s “very tough rhetoric and his tough negotiating style is what has led to the result that you are all witnessing today.”

Asked how the U.S. can claim to have moral high ground, she said Trump’s actions have “essentially taken out the military of a rogue, Islamic regime that has chanted ‘Death to America’ for 47 years.”

“The President absolutely has the moral high ground over the Iranian terrorist regime,” she told a reporter, “and for you to even suggest otherwise is frankly insulting.”