White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied media reports on Wednesday that the United States had requested an extension of the two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Leavitt said that she had no announcement to make about a second round of in-person negotiations with Iran but that any such talks would likely continue to be held in Pakistan.
“That is not true at this moment,” Leavitt said, of the reported request for an extension of the ceasefire, due to expire April 21. “We remain very much engaged in these negotiations.”
Leavitt appeared to be referring to an Associated Press report on Wednesday claiming that the United States and Iran had agreed in principle to extend the ceasefire, citing “regional officials.”
She described the Pakistanis as “incredible mediators” and added that “we feel good about the prospects of a deal.”
Wednesday’s press conference focused largely on economic issues, but Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also took questions from reporters about the conflict against Iran.Bessent said that the Treasury Department is conducting an “Operation Economic Fury” of sanctions to supplement the military campaign with help from Iran’s Arab neighbors in the Persian Gulf.
“One of the what may prove to be fatal mistakes that the Iranians made was bombing their Gulf Cooperation Council neighbors, who are now willing to be much more transparent in terms of the funds or do a deeper dive in investigating the funds that are held within their banking systems,” Bessent said.
“We have pushed out to them the request that we want to freeze more funds of the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and any members of Iranian leadership,” he said.
Iran and its leaders have long used banks and shell companies in neighboring countries to harbor funds and evade U.S. sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the United Arab Emirates was considering freezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets in response to its missile and drone attacks against the country.
Bessent said that the United States is also trying to increase pressure on Iran via China, which was the largest purchaser of Iranian oil before the war.
“We believe with this blockade in the straits there will be a pause of Chinese buying,” Bessent said. “Two Chinese banks received letters from the U.S. Treasury—I’m not going to identify the banks—but we told them that if we can prove that there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions.”
Leavitt also said that U.S. President Donald Trump had received a personal assurance from Chinese President Xi Jinping that China is not supplying Iran with weapons.
