The White House: Iran seeks to reach an agreement under the shadow of US bombing - Sarmad

(KUNA) – White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Iran remains very keen to communicate with the United States to reach an agreement with it, as it is suffering devastating strikes from U.S. forces.

Leavitt told reporters, “I spoke with the President about this matter just an hour ago,” emphasizing that “Iran is still very keen to speak with the United States and express its desire to reach an agreement with us, because it is receiving devastating strikes at the hands of the U.S. military.”

She confirmed that the reason for the resumption of recent U.S. strikes over the past few days was that “Iran violated the memorandum of understanding we reached with it.”

She added, “The memorandum of understanding they signed (last month) stipulated that they would not fire on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. But unfortunately, they made a catastrophic decision to do so.”

She clarified that the U.S. blockade “is limited to ships entering or leaving Iranian ports,” stressing that it was reimposed “due to Iran’s failure to comply with its agreement with the United States.”

She reiterated that “the Strait (of Hormuz) remains open to ships that are not heading to or departing from Iranian ports, and the U.S. Navy is present there to ensure that things proceed in this manner.”

She emphasized that “we can strike Iran at any time and in any place,” noting that “Iran is no longer that state sponsor of terrorism that previously enjoyed great power and influence.”

She added that the U.S. strikes had crippled Iran’s leadership ability to “communicate,” turning its regime into a “fragmented entity.”

She also confirmed that Trump would not stand idly by or allow actual acts of terrorism to occur in the Strait without ensuring that Iran bears the consequences, which is what we are witnessing now.

At the same time, the White House spokesperson said that Trump “is always open and ready to pursue diplomacy.”

U.S. forces had resumed the naval blockade on ships heading to Iranian ports and coastal areas, or coming from them, starting yesterday, the first day of Tuesday, in response to the targeting of commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

This followed the resumption of U.S. military strikes against Iran last week for the same reason, and the official statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that the ceasefire, which was supposed to last for 60 days to allow for negotiations on an agreement according to the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran last month, had ended.