White House Says No Negotiations Underway with Iran

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The White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt.

The White House has confirmed that no negotiations are currently underway with Iran, saying the Trump administration will continue to apply intense economic pressure on Tehran until it considers Iran ready for what it describes as “serious and meaningful” talks.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told Fox News on Thursday that the administration’s immediate focus was on the “economic blockade” announced earlier this week by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, aimed at increasing pressure on Iran through tighter sanctions.

Leavitt said the Iranian economy was experiencing a particularly difficult period, according to the administration’s assessment. She claimed that inflation had exceeded 100% and that Iranian authorities were facing difficulties paying the salaries of police and military personnel.

She said Bessent and President Donald Trump were continuing to use “all available economic tools” to increase pressure on Tehran.

Asked about the possibility of a return to diplomacy, Leavitt said: “There are no negotiations currently underway.” She added that this would remain the case until Trump determined that Iran was prepared to come to the negotiating table in a serious manner.

According to Leavitt, Washington had yet to see sufficient evidence that Iran was ready for negotiations, while stressing that the final decision on whether to pursue talks rested with Trump.

She also said the president was keeping “all options on the table”, signalling that Washington was not ruling out measures beyond its economic pressure campaign.

Leavitt linked the economic measures to previous US military operations against Iran, saying that “Operation Epic Wrath” had significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities, according to the US administration.

She reiterated that Trump’s primary objective was to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, saying Washington had shifted from military pressure towards intensifying economic measures in pursuit of that goal.

The spokesperson also said that the naval blockade imposed on Iran remained in place, describing its results as “highly successful”. She claimed that the United States effectively controls the Strait of Hormuz and that the vital shipping route remains open due to the presence of US forces.

The comments came after Washington announced a new package of economic measures against Iran, dubbed “Operation Paragon”, as part of efforts to restrict Tehran’s sources of revenue and strengthen secondary sanctions on entities continuing to conduct business with Iran.

The statements signal an increasingly hardline US approach towards Tehran, while leaving open the possibility of negotiations in principle, provided Iran meets conditions that Washington says have not yet been fulfilled.


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