Leavitt: Iran looking for “exit ramp”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said the Iranian regime was looking for an "exit ramp" as the war approaches the four-week mark.

"You're beginning to see the regime look for an exit ramp," she told reporters at a briefing. "They recognize they are being crushed. Their ability to attack American and allied forces, as well as their ability to defend their own territory, is dwindling literally hour by hour."

Ms. Leavitt said U.S. and Israeli strikes had "crushed" the country's ambitions to develop a nuclear weapon and that President Trump's threat last weekend to bomb the country's power and energy infrastructure spurred the regime to reach out for negotiations.

"President Trump is willing to listen," she said. "The United States has been engaged over the last three days in productive conversations, which led the president to temporarily instruct the Department of War to postpone planned strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure only."

She said the president's preference is "always peace," but warned that failure to reach a deal on U.S. terms would lead to more "death and destruction."

"If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before," she said. "President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again."

Iran has denied that any negotiations about terms to end the war were underway, and like President Trump, Ms. Leavitt declined to provide any information about who the U.S. was negotiating with.

"We're not going to get into the details of these negotiations and conversations that continue to take place," she told reporters.

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