White House says Iran agreed to two‑week ceasefire after 38‑day "Operation Epic Fury," negotiations to be private

The White House press secretary, Caroline, said Wednesday that Iran has agreed to a two‑week ceasefire after what the administration calls a 38‑day military campaign labeled "Operation Epic Fury." She described the pause as a diplomatic opening created by recent U.S. military action and said negotiations will be conducted privately over the next two weeks.

"From the very beginning of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump stated this would be a 4 to 6 week military operation to dismantle the military threat posed by the radical Islamic Iranian regime," Caroline said in opening remarks, and later added that the campaign "achieved and exceeded those core military objectives in just 38 days." She attributed to the U.S. strikes on Iran's missiles, drone‑launching units and facilities, and says those operations produced leverage for talks.

Caroline framed the arrangement as conditional on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying the ceasefire is "subject to the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz." She also reiterated a U.S. negotiating red line: ending Iranian enrichment of highly enriched uranium. "That is a red line that the president is not going to back away from," she said, adding that the administration hopes to achieve that outcome through diplomacy.

Pressed by reporters about conflicting public reporting from Iranian state media, Caroline said public statements by Iran can differ from private communications with U.S. negotiators and described the publicly posted Iranian proposal as initially unacceptable and later revised into a basis for talks. She said the White House has seen reports that Iran agreed to reopen the strait and that the administration is monitoring passage "minute by minute, hour by hour."

Caroline declined to confirm every operational detail raised by reporters and attributed numeric strike figures and damage assessments to the administration's account. "I would caution a little bit of patience," she said, noting ceasefires are fragile, and adding that further details will emerge as negotiations proceed behind closed doors. She said the president's negotiating team will work "so long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open with no limitations or delays."