White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP
Iranian state media cited an unidentified official as saying that the Islamic republic had responded "negatively" to the reported overture from Trump as the war nears the four-week mark.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that negotiations with Iran had hit a dead end.
"Talks continue. They are productive," Leavitt told a briefing when asked about the Iranian report.
Leavitt said that there were "elements of truth" to media reports on the details of a 15-point US plan setting out demands on Tehran, but said some of the reporting was "not entirely factual."
US and Israeli media said the points involved Iran giving up any right to a nuclear program and agreeing to dismantle its ballistic missile arsenal.
The war began on 28 February when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, disrupting ongoing negotiations over its nuclear program. The war has expanded as Iran responded with retaliation on US military assets in the region and strikes on Israel.
Leavitt declined to say whom the US was dealing with in Tehran following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the early days of the US‑Israeli war, while his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public.
Reports have suggested the Trump administration's interlocutor is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's speaker of parliament and one of its most prominent non-clerical figures, which Ghalibaf himself denied.
The spokeswoman also declined to confirm reports that top US officials including Vice President JD Vance were set to hold talks with the Iranians in Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator.
'Unleash hell'
But Leavitt warned that it was time for Iran to make a deal, claiming that Trump was nearing what the White House says are the key US military objectives. Leavitt also claimed that Iran was defeated, although Tehran continues to retaliate against Israel-US attacks, disturbing oil prices and stock markets.
Trump is moving thousands of airborne troops and extra marines to the Gulf amid speculation that he might order a ground invasion to either seize Iranian oil assets in the Gulf or take over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's speaker Ghalibaf warned on Wednesday on X of the possible invasion of an Iranian island with the support of an unnamed regional country.
The White House meanwhile appeared to stick to the four to six-week timeline it has previously given for the war.
Trump announced Wednesday that his visit to China to meet Xi Jinping had now been rescheduled for mid-May, having postponed it by six weeks to deal with the war.
"We've always estimated approximately four to six weeks (for the length of military operations against Iran), so you could do the math on that," Leavitt added.
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