United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reportedly agreed to increase pressure on Iran to limit oil exports to China, according to an Axios report citing two US officials.
Representatives from Iran and US conducted extensive talks last week, with mediation from Oman, after Trump bolstered US navy presence in the region.
The officials told Axios that while Trump and Netanyahu also agreed that the “necessary end state” is an Iran without the capability to acquire nuclear weapons, they disagree on the way to achieve this. Trump believes a deal can be reached with Iran, while Netanyahu thinks Iran will not abide by it.
"We'll see if it's possible. Let's give it a shot", the report citing a US official quoting the US President saying.
US-Iran talks: What is the strategy?
The agreement came at a meeting between the two leaders at the White House on 11 February, where they “agreed we will go full force with maximum pressure against Iran, for example, regarding Iranian oil sales to China”, the report added.
Notably, China buys 80% of all of Iran's oil exports, and reduction in this would impact the middle eastern countries' coffers significantly, as per the report. Pressure from this move is expected to make Iran more open to concessions on its nuclear program, it said.
This also aligns with an executive order signed by Trump which allows the US to increase economic pressure on Iran, with possibility of 25% tariff increase on any country that conducts trade with Iran.
Iran negotiations to reignite US-China tensions?
Notably, since China is the major importer of Iranian oil, any tariff on countries trading with the country would mean that the US once again increases duties on China. Over the past few weeks, Trump has tried to smooth relations, holding a phone call with Xi Jinping and a scheduled visit to Beijing in April.
According to a Reuters report, they reached out to the Chinese foreign ministry with queries but did not get a statement amid the Lunar New Year national holiday.
US-Iran deal: What's the status so far?
The report added that Trump sought his advisers' — Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner's — opinions on whether a deal could be reached with Iran and they have indicated that talks are going in the right direction. Negotiations are expected to continue, with a second round scheduled in Geneva next week (17 February).
According to the official, Kushner and Witkoff told Trump they will pass on a deal they think is satisfactory and the president can decide if he wants to go ahead. "We are sober and realistic about the Iranians. The ball is in their court. If it is not a real deal, we will not take it," a US official said.
However, not all are optimistic. A second official told Axios there is "zero chance" that Iran or the US will agree to what the other proposes.
(With inputs from Agencies)
