White House: Secret proposal US received from Iran is ‘workable basis on which to negotiate’

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insists that Iran only agreed to a ceasefire yesterday because it could not tolerate the continued US-Israeli bombing campaign.

“As the president said, we have received a proposal from the Iranians that has been determined to be a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Leavitt says during a press conference.

She again calls out news outlets reporting what Iranian state media has said were the contents of the 10-point proposal for a long-term deal with the US. Leavitt says the Iranian state media proposal is different from the one Tehran actually sent to the US yesterday.

The press secretary notes that Iran had sent a 10-point proposal to the US earlier on Wednesday that was “fundamentally unserious” and “literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump.”

She doesn’t specify whether that was the proposal reported by Iranian media, but reiterates that a subsequent offer from Iran on Wednesday is the one that the US is taking more seriously.

Iran has yet to weigh in on the confusion.

“The president’s red lines, namely, the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran, have not changed,” Leavitt says. The 10-point proposal published by Iranian state media included a recognition of Tehran’s right to enrich.

“The president will only make a deal that serves in the best interests of the United States of America, and his negotiating team will focus on this effort over the next two weeks, so long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open with no limitations or delays,” she says. There have been reports of continued delays at Hormuz over the past day.