White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt does not agree with how the media is portraying how Iran seized certain cargo ships, arguing that they have overstated the situation. This is despite the rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz with no sign of a final agreement in sight. According to Leavitt, “the American media” is making more of the situation than what it is.
Speaking during a Fox News interview, Leavitt said reports about Iran capturing vessels during the current ceasefire are being “blown out of proportion,” even as multiple outlets confirmed that Iranian forces recently attacked three ships and seized two of them. Iran reportedly used fast-moving gunboats to intercept the vessels and move them into its waters. Questions are now being raised over whether the fragile truce is holding because of the Iranian’s actions.
Despite the escalation, Leavitt emphasized that Donald Trump does not consider the seizures a violation of the ceasefire. She explained that the ships were not American or Israeli, pointing out that the incidents as outside the scope of the agreement. “These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships,” she said. Leavitt added that the media response appeared to be trying to undermine the administration’s claims of weakening Iran’s military capabilities, saying their aim was to “discredit the president’s facts that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional Navy.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the president has not placed a time limit on how long the Iran ceasefire will remain in effect. pic.twitter.com/tm3q2r2Bkl
— KTLA (@KTLA) April 22, 2026
Leavitt went further, criticizing Iran’s actions while simultaneously downplaying their strategic significance. “Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates,” she said, arguing that the seizures showed desperation rather than strength. “They don’t have control over the strait. This is piracy that we are seeing on display. And the naval blockade that the United States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective,” she added.
Her remarks about the ceasefire still holding comes as there is still a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route where roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes. Recent attacks have many questioning the global energy markets and how stable the ceasefire is, which the U.S. has extended while continuing economic pressure on Iran.
The legacy media is doing PR for the Iranian regime… again.
The truth is that under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. military decimated the Iranian regime’s capabilities in just 38 days:
Iran’s defense industrial base was almost completely destroyed.
Iran’s ability to… https://t.co/44iaYUkW9d
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) April 22, 2026
Leavitt insists the U.S. is pressurizing Iran through the naval blockade and economic pressure strategy which doesn’t violate the ceasefire. She claims the U.S. is successfully “choking their economy,” limiting Iran in this way.
Conflicting signals from Washington have also added to public confusion about whether there really has been progress in the negotiation process. One of the reasons for the confusion is the enforcement that is still ongoing in the area, as well as the recent aggressive attacks at sea despite the ceasefire. These situations have the public wondering whether the situation is de-escalating or whether the conflict is still ongoing
Complicating the situation even further, is the fact that it appears as if diplomatic talks have stopped. The Trump administration is reportedly waiting for a unified response from Iranian leadership, which officials say remains divided internally. Meanwhile, Iran has demanded concessions, including relief from economic pressure, before engaging in further negotiations. For now, the White House is maintaining that the ceasefire is holding, even as incidents at sea continue, and that media coverage may be exaggerating the immediate risk of things getting worse.
