Karoline Leavitt, the U.S. White House Spokesperson, met with reporters on the 22nd local time and said, "Contrary to some reports I saw today, the president has not set a firm deadline to accept Iran's proposal."
The previous day, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would receive a "unified proposal" from the Iranian government going forward and extend the cease-fire until negotiations conclude one way or the other. However, the online outlet Axios reported, citing anonymous officials, that President Trump was willing to give Iran about 3–5 more days for the cease-fire.
Spokesperson Leavitt said, "We are aware that a 3–5 day deadline was mentioned in media reports citing anonymous sources," adding, "That is not true. The president has not set a deadline himself." She then emphasized, "Ultimately, the timeline for the cease-fire with Iran will be decided by the president, the commander in chief of the U.S. military."
President Trump also said earlier in an interview with Fox News that the "3–5 day deadline" was not true, adding, "We are not rushing in our talks with Iran."
Spokesperson Leavitt said, "There is clearly a lot of division within (Iran). This is a fight between pragmatists and hard-liners in Iran right now," adding, "The president wants a unified response from Iran."
She added, "While we wait for that response, the cease-fire remains in effect regarding military and physical strikes, but the 'Great Fury' operation continues, and the maritime blockade of ships going to and from Iranian ports also continues," and said, "While we wait for their response, the president is satisfied with that situation."
Regarding Iran's criticism through state-run media after President Trump said an extension of the cease-fire was unnecessary and then unilaterally declared an indefinite extension, Spokesperson Leavitt replied, "Be cautious about taking what they (Iran) say at face value."