White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a stern ultimatum to Tehran on Monday, declaring that the United States will hold Iran’s shifting leadership “accountable to their word” or unleash further military strikes.
The warning follows a month of high-intensity conflict and a series of U.S.-Israeli strikes that President Donald Trump claims have effectively triggered “regime change” by eliminating nearly two tiers of Iranian officials.
Speaking from the White House on March 30, Leavitt, 28, justified the recent deaths of high-ranking Iranian officials, stating they were targeted after “stringing along” the Trump administration during previous peace negotiations.
“Anything that they say to us privately will be tested,” Leavitt told reporters. “If not, the president has laid out the military consequences that the Iranian regime will see if they don’t hold true to the words that we are hearing privately behind the scenes.”
The administration is currently testing the credibility of what it describes as a “third regime.” This follows the Feb. 28 strike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his son Mojtaba’s predecessor, along with top military brass.
On Sunday, President Trump, 79, characterized the current Iranian governing body as a radical departure from the past. Speaking aboard Air Force One, the President asserted that the original leadership was “decimated” and “destroyed.”
“The next regime is mostly dead,” Trump said, referring to the rapid succession of leadership during the month-long war. He described the current cohort of leaders as “very reasonable” and “different people than anybody’s dealt with before.”
However, this diplomatic optimism is being met with external skepticism. The U.S. is reportedly negotiating with parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—a figure who, as recently as last weekend, reportedly threatened to set American troops “on fire.”
The stakes for the ongoing private talks are reaching a boiling point. Earlier Monday, President Trump utilized social media to threaten the total destruction of Iran’s energy resources and critical infrastructure if a resolution is not reached “shortly.”
Leavitt framed the current standoff as a “historic opportunity” for Tehran to finalize a deal and permanently abandon its nuclear ambitions. She emphasized that the President’s willingness to use the “grave consequences of the United States armed forces” remains the primary leverage in these discussions.
Iranian officials have remained silent regarding their participation in these high-level talks, even as the administration maintains that “reasonable” dialogue is occurring behind closed doors.
