The White House warned Iran Wednesday to keep the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf open amid reports that it is closing the strait over Israeli military action in Lebanon.

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday night but Iran claimed Wednesday that the U.S. must rein in Israel and end the fighting in Lebanon if it wants to maintain the ceasefire.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the alleged closure of the strait, based on reports from Iranian state media, is "completely unacceptable." 

"The president was made aware of those reports before I came to the podium," Leavitt said. "That is completely unacceptable. This is a case of what they're saying publicly is different privately. We have seen an uptick of traffic in the Strait today.

"I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately, quickly and safely," she continued. "That is his expectation. It has been relayed to him privately that that is what's taking place and these reports publicly are false."

Israel claimed that its military actions in Lebanon were not part of the ceasefire agreement it also agreed to with Iran, but Iran's foreign minister highlighted a portion of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's statement on the agreement that explicitly said that the ceasefire applied to Lebanon. Pakistan brokered the agreement.

Israel said earlier Wednesday it had launched its “largest attack across Lebanon” since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion and has targeted approximately 100 Hezbollah command centers and military infrastructures.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.