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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.
An Iranian lawmaker has questioned why authorities did not cut internet access earlier during unrest on January 8-9.
Hamid Rasaei, a Tehran MP, said it should be examined why the internet was not disconnected sooner during the nationwide protests that month.
During the January 2026 unrest, authorities imposed a near-total internet shutdown and disrupted access to satellite service Starlink, halting the flow of information.
The latest US-Iran diplomacy may reflect coordinated pressure rather than compromise, analysts told Iran International’s Eye for Iran podcast, describing Washington and Jerusalem as playing a potential “good cop, bad cop” strategy.
Middle East analyst Dr. Eric Mandel said the contrasting public tones adopted by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not necessarily be read as disagreement.
“This could be a giant ruse — Netanyahu and Trump playing bad cop, good cop,” Mandel said, arguing that diplomacy may be designed to demonstrate that all political options were exhausted before stronger measures are considered.
Former US ambassador John Craig echoed that assessment.
“The pressure is deliberate,” Craig said, adding that talks could represent “a prequel… to military action,” as Washington increases its force posture in the region.
Military buildup alongside diplomacy
That military posture has become increasingly visible. President Donald Trump has said he is considering sending a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East as tensions with Tehran escalate, describing an expanding naval deployment intended to reinforce American leverage.
“We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” Trump said in an interview with Axios, signaling that additional forces could be deployed if diplomacy fails.
The United States has already positioned the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, accompanied by destroyers armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles, within the US Central Command area covering the Middle East.
The Pentagon has also moved additional fighter jets, air defense systems and other military assets into the region.
Defense planners are weighing further options should Trump authorize a broader buildup, including the possible deployment of additional carrier groups.
The military movements come as Washington pursues indirect talks with Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear program — the first such discussions since US strikes targeted three major Iranian nuclear facilities last June was held in Oman last week. A second meeting is set to continue this week in Geneva.
At the same time, the Trump administration has warned US commercial vessels to avoid parts of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
Netanyahu struck a notably cautious tone following his meeting with Trump in Washington, the seventh between the two leaders since the US president returned to office.
Speaking before departing the United States, the Israeli prime minister said Trump believes Iran could still be pushed into accepting what he called “a good deal,” but made clear he remains doubtful.
“I do not hide my general skepticism about the possibility of reaching any agreement with Iran,” Netanyahu said, stressing that any deal must address ballistic missiles and Tehran’s regional proxy network in addition to its nuclear program.
Trump, meanwhile, warned that failure to reach an agreement would be “very traumatic for Iran,” while urging Tehran to move quickly toward accepting US conditions.
Pressure grows as unrest inside Iran deepens
The diplomacy is unfolding against the backdrop of one of the deadliest crackdowns in the Islamic Republic’s history. Iranian security forces opened fire on nationwide protests on January 8-9 with at least 36 thousand killed in a matter of days as demonstrations spread across multiple cities.
Voices connected to people inside Iran, shared on Eye for Iran, suggest that the internal crisis is shaping how many Iranians now view international negotiations.
Mina, an Iranian speaking on the program whose friends were killed or imprisoned during the protests, described a level of desperation.
“There are people in Iran who watch the air traffic every night to see if there are fewer airplanes in the sky,” she said. “Maybe tonight intervention will come.”
Her account reflects a growing sentiment among some protesters who, after years of failed reform movements and escalating repression, say they no longer believe internal change alone is possible.
Many, she said, now see outside pressure — including potential military action — as the only remaining path to ending the rule of the Islamic Republic.
Analysts say that reality adds urgency to the current diplomatic moment. Washington emphasizes negotiations, while Israel highlights the risks of delay, creating what Mandel described as a coordinated messaging strategy rather than a clear policy divide.
“The president wants to show he has gone to the nth degree diplomatically,” Mandel said.
“But that doesn’t mean other options disappear.”
Craig argued the visible military buildup is intended to shape Iranian calculations during talks, warning Tehran may attempt to prolong negotiations to buy time — a pattern seen in previous nuclear negotiations.
Netanyahu’s skepticism mirrors longstanding Israeli concerns that agreements focused narrowly on nuclear restrictions fail to address broader threats posed by Iran’s missile program and proxy forces operating across the region.
The Israeli leader also announced he would not return to Washington next week for a planned Board of Peace gathering and will instead address the AIPAC conference virtually, a move that has fueled speculation about the urgency surrounding current Iran discussions.
“If you told me tonight something dramatic happened,” Mandel said, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Nighttime chants were reported across multiple Iranian cities on Saturday, hours after mass rallies by Iranians abroad drew large crowds in support of protesters inside the country.
Videos and eyewitness accounts received by Iran International showed residents chanting anti-government slogans from rooftops and windows in cities including Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Kermanshah.
Slogans included “Death to the dictator” and “Death to Khamenei,” as well as monarchist chants.
Canada’s Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa said the Islamic Republic does not represent the people of Iran, speaking at a large rally in Toronto.
Parsa described the widespread turnout of Iranians at demonstrations across major global cities as a powerful signal to international institutions, saying it shows Tehran lacks popular legitimacy.
“We will never abandon you,” he told the crowd.
