US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed at a White House meeting this week to increase economic pressure on Iran, including efforts to curb its oil exports to China, Axios reported.
The understanding, reached during talks on Wednesday, would form part of a renewed “maximum pressure” campaign running alongside indirect nuclear negotiations with Tehran, according to two US officials briefed on the discussions.
“We agreed that we will go full force with maximum pressure against Iran, for example, regarding Iranian oil sales to China,” a senior US official said.
China buys more than 80% of Iran’s oil exports, making it Tehran’s main source of crude revenue. Any significant reduction in those purchases would sharply increase economic strain on Iran and could affect its calculations in nuclear talks with Washington.
An executive order signed by Trump earlier this month allows the administration to expand economic measures against Iran. The order authorizes the secretaries of state and commerce to recommend tariffs of up to 25% on countries that conduct business with Iran.
Such steps could further complicate already tense US-China relations. Beijing said on Sunday that “normal cooperation between countries conducted within the framework of international law is reasonable and legitimate, and should be respected and protected,” when asked about the reported discussions.
US officials said the pressure campaign would proceed in parallel with diplomacy and a US military buildup in the Middle East, as Washington prepares contingency plans in case negotiations fail.
Behind closed doors, Trump and Netanyahu agreed on the objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability, one US official said. However, they differed on strategy.
Netanyahu argued that it was impossible to secure a reliable agreement with Iran and that Tehran would not abide by any deal, the official said.
Trump said he believed there was still a chance to reach an agreement.
“We’ll see if it’s possible. Let’s give it a shot,” Trump said, according to the official.
Trump has tasked advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with leading the talks. The two are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday for a second round of negotiations, after earlier contacts mediated by Oman.
A US official said Witkoff recently conveyed messages to Tehran through Oman’s foreign minister and that Washington expects an Iranian response at the Geneva meeting.
“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,” one US official said. Another said he believed there was “zero chance” that either side would accept the other’s core demands.
US and Iranian diplomats held indirect talks through Omani mediators last week in an effort to revive diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program.
The transfers involved at least six Iranian diplomats who carried suitcases filled with US dollars on commercial flights to Lebanon, according to the information.
The cash deliveries formed part of efforts to help Hezbollah rebuild its finances and operational capacity after sustaining significant blows to its leadership, weapons stockpiles and funding networks.
Those involved include Mohammad Ebrahim Taherianfard, a former ambassador to Turkey and senior Foreign Ministry official; Mohammad Reza Shirkhodaei, a veteran diplomat and former consul general in Pakistan; his brother Hamidreza Shirkhodaei; Reza Nedaei; Abbas Asgari; and Amir-Hamzeh Shiranirad, a former Iranian embassy employee in Canada.
Taherianfard traveled to Beirut in January alongside Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He carried a suitcase filled with dollars, relying on diplomatic immunity to avoid airport inspection.
Similar methods were used on other trips, with diplomats transporting cash directly through Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also traveled to Beirut in October and carried hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, according to the information.
After Israeli strikes disrupted weapons and cash-smuggling routes used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in Syria, Beirut airport emerged as a primary channel for direct cash deliveries.
Hezbollah’s longstanding influence over security structures at the airport has in the past facilitated such transfers, though Lebanese authorities have recently increased control.
The cash shipments come as Hezbollah faces acute financial strain. The group has struggled to pay fighters and to finance reconstruction in parts of southern Lebanon heavily damaged in fighting. Rebuilding costs have been estimated in the billions of dollars.
In January 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had accused Iran of funneling tens of millions of dollars in cash to Hezbollah through Beirut airport, with Iranian diplomats and other couriers allegedly carrying suitcases stuffed with US dollars to help the group recover after major losses.
Israel filed complaints with the US-led cease-fire oversight committee, while Iran, Turkey and Hezbollah denied wrongdoing. The report said tighter scrutiny at Beirut airport and the disruption of routes through Syria had made such cash shipments a more prominent channel for funding.
On Tuesday, the US Treasury announced new sanctions targeting what it described as key mechanisms Hezbollah uses to sustain its finances, including coordination with Iran and exploitation of Lebanon’s informal cash economy.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Lebanese gold exchange company Jood SARL, which operates under the supervision of US-designated Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a Hezbollah-linked financial institution. Treasury said Jood converts Hezbollah’s gold reserves into usable funds and helps the group mitigate liquidity pressures.
OFAC also sanctioned an international procurement and commodities shipping network involving Hezbollah financiers operating from multiple jurisdictions, including Iran.
“Hezbollah is a threat to peace and stability in the Middle East,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the United States would continue working to cut the group off from the global financial system.
Iran has long considered Hezbollah a central pillar of its regional alliance network and has provided the group with financial, military and logistical support for decades.
