--- title: White House: Latest Hormuz Closure 'Completely Unacceptable' description: Vice President JD Vance is set to lead a team of negotiators meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan on Saturday, Leavitt said canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/04/08/white-house-strait-of-hormuz-closure-would-be-completely-unacceptable-under-ceasefire/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-04-08T20:11:24.064Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-13T06:52:18.351Z article:section: Politics og:title: Strait of Hormuz Closure 'Completely Unacceptable' Under Ceasefire, Leavitt Says og:description: Vice President JD Vance is set to lead a team of negotiators meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan on Saturday, Leavitt said og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/04/08/white-house-strait-of-hormuz-closure-would-be-completely-unacceptable-under-ceasefire/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f36734f3c6b8576/69d69c3647096d3f54acace9/GettyImages-2270419816.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-2270419816.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Strait of Hormuz Closure 'Completely Unacceptable' Under Ceasefire, Leavitt Says twitter:description: Vice President JD Vance is set to lead a team of negotiators meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan on Saturday, Leavitt said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f36734f3c6b8576/69d69c3647096d3f54acace9/GettyImages-2270419816.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House: Strait of Hormuz Closure 'Completely Unacceptable' Under Ceasefire > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: White House Says Lebanon is "Not Part of the Ceasefire" Deal with Iran [Watch (HLS stream): White House Says Lebanon is "Not Part of the Ceasefire" Deal with Iran](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gLfPz90J.m3u8) (2:40)  _Published 2026-04-08. Vice President JD Vance will lead a team of negotiators meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan on Saturday_  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 8, 2026 8:11 PM UTC  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Apr 8, 2026 8:11 PM UTC White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday disputed reports that Iran had closed the [Strait of Hormuz](https://time.com/article/2026/04/07/strait-of-hormuz-countries-pass-deals-iran-us-war-trump/https://time.com/article/2026/04/07/strait-of-hormuz-countries-pass-deals-iran-us-war-trump/) hours into a f[ragile ceasefire](https://time.com/article/2026/04/07/trump-iran-war-threat-steps-back/) with the U.S., but said any effort by Iran to stop maritime traffic would be “completely unacceptable.” Leavitt addressed reporters soon after Iranian state media had reported that the Strait had been closed in response to attacks by Israel against the [Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon](https://time.com/article/2026/03/16/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-displaced/). Using triumphant phrases, Leavitt praised the ceasefire as “a victory for the United States of America” and talked as if the U.S. military’s operation in Iran was now completed. Iran has not yet agreed to stop building ballistic missiles or arming proxy forces, and it has not abandoned its plans to develop nuclear weapons, all of which Trump [previously laid out as goals](https://time.com/article/2026/04/02/trump-iran-off-ramp/) of his military operation. A team of U.S. negotiators led by Vice President JD Vance, and including Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, will meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan on Saturday, Leavitt said. Iran publicly released a 10-point ceasefire proposal that it claimed was the framework for talks with the U.S. Whether both sides are going off that framework was unclear Wednesday, as Leavitt said the U.S. had rejected Iran’s initial 10-point proposal. She said Iran then delivered another set of proposals closer to the deadline that were “more reasonable and entirely different.” President Trump determined that the modified proposal was a “workable basis on which to negotiate,” she said. Leavitt stressed that comments Iran makes publicly are different from what is said to American negotiators behind closed doors, suggesting that the true state of negotiations were far different from the details known publicly. The ceasefire announcement came Tuesday evening, shortly before the deadline for Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s “civilization” if its leaders didn’t strike a deal. Leavitt credited the U.S. bombardments and Trump’s threats to end their “civilization” for Iran agreeing to a ceasefire. Trump has demanded Iran reopen the strait to traffic and suggested on his social media account that the U.S. and Iran should jointly charge tolls for passage through the Strait. During Wednesday’s briefing, Leavitt said that was an idea the president has “floated,” but said Trump ultimately wants the sea route open ”without any limitations, like tolls or otherwise.” The U.S. has severely weakened Iran’s military, Leavitt said, running down a list of damage U.S. bombardments did to Iranian stockpiles. Iran’s ability to build and store ballistic missiles has been “set back years,” she said. The U.S. launched 450 strikes against ballistic missile facilities and 800 strikes against Iran’s drone launching facilities. 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