White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday dismissed Iranian state media reports that Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz, saying the Trump administration has been told traffic through the key global oil chokepoint has increased.
The Fars News Agency, an Iranian state outlet tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported earlier Wednesday that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz "came to a complete stop" because Israel violated the terms of a two-week ceasefire announced Tuesday with attacks against Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"Well, with respect to the first reporting out of Iranian state media, the president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium," Leavitt said in remarks aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform. "That is completely unacceptable. And again, this is a case of what they're saying publicly is different.
"Privately, 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, and it has been relayed to him privately that that is what's taking place and these reports publicly are false."
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night on Truth Social that the parties had agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the conflict that began Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran's political leadership and military infrastructure.
He said the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran that "we believe is a workable basis on which to negotiate." The ceasefire came hours before a deadline after Trump vowed Tuesday morning on Truth Social that a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran did not agree to terms.
Trump wrote Tuesday night: "Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks."
Leavitt said Trump's "tough rhetoric" and "tough negotiating style" are what led to the ceasefire agreement.
"Iran publicly acknowledging last night that they have agreed or that they wanted this ceasefire with the United States because they no longer could tolerate being bombed by our very powerful and lethal military, and that they have committed to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which the president will hold them accountable for," she said. "And it's something the administration is closely monitoring in real time.
"The world should take [Trump's] word very seriously in understanding that the president is always most interested in results. And it was the Iranians who backed down, not President Trump. He said that they would face very grave consequences, as you just laid out, by the 8 p.m. deadline, if they did not agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. And what did they do last night? They agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.