Sean JamesApr 22nd, 2026, 5:18 pm

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the mainstream press to take reports from state-sponsored Iranian outlets with a huge serving of skepticism on Wednesday, after a British reporter asked for the administration’s response to Iranian media “openly mocking” President Donald Trump over the ceasefire extension.

Leavitt was asked about it while speaking to reporters in front of the White House.

“In the same day, the president said that he does not want to extend the ceasefire and the bombs would start falling after the end of the ceasefire, and unilaterally, he declared the ceasefire would be extended indefinitely. Iranian state media are openly mocking the president of the United States,” the reporter said. He then said the Iranian press reported the country’s theocratic leaders didn’t even ask for the extension Trump gave them.

“The response is, you guys all see a lot of different messaging coming out of Iran, a lot of different rhetoric and language from them,” Leavitt said. “I would caution you to take anything that they say at face value. What we’ve seen is what they say publicly is much different than what they concede to the United States and our negotiating team privately.”

She added, “I’ve said that repeatedly to all of you in the news media and you should take our word for it.”

Leavitt was asked the question after Trump reportedly added 3-5 days to the ceasefire, which was set to expire on Wednesday.

A U.S. official briefed on negotiations told Axios the extension was to give what’s left of Iran’s leadership a chance to “get their sh*t together.”

And in related news, Leavitt went on Fox News on Wednesday afternoon and told the mainstream media to stop blowing stories like Iran attacking three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz “out of proportion.” 

Watch above via Live Now on Fox.

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