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Report: Trump, Netanyahu Agreed US Should Press Iran to Cut Oil Sales to China

President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
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Report: Trump, Netanyahu Agreed US Should Press Iran to Cut Oil Sales to China

President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)
President Donald Trump answers a question from a reporter at the end of a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed at a White House meeting on Wednesday that the US would work to reduce Iran's oil exports to China, Axios reported, citing two US officials briefed on ‌the issue.

"We ‌agreed that we will ‌go ⁠full force with ⁠maximum pressure against Iran, for example, regarding Iranian oil sales to China," Axios reported on Saturday, quoting a senior US official.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment ‌on Sunday, ‌the first day of a national holiday ‌for the Lunar New Year.

China ‌accounts for more than 80% of Iran's oil exports. Any reduction in that trade would mean lower oil ‌revenue for Iran.

US and Iranian diplomats held nuclear ⁠talks ⁠through Omani mediators last week in an effort to revive diplomacy, after the US president positioned a naval flotilla in the region as the American military prepares for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran.

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Netanyahu Says US Deal with Iran Must Dismantle Nuclear Infrastructure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Says US Deal with Iran Must Dismantle Nuclear Infrastructure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told US President Donald Trump last week that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, not just stopping the enrichment process.

Speaking at the annual Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel still needs to "complete the job" of destroying all tunnels in Gaza. Israel, he said, has already dismantled 150 km (93 miles) of an estimated 500 km.

A second round of ‌talks between ‌the US and Iran are slated for this ‌week. ⁠Iran is pursuing ⁠a nuclear agreement with the US that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday.

Netanyahu said he is skeptical of a deal, but it must include enriched material leaving Iran. "There shall be no enrichment capability - not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling ⁠the equipment and the infrastructure that allows ‌you to enrich in the ‌first place," he said.

Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month ‌to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear program ‌and avert a new military confrontation. The US has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do ‌not succeed, US officials have told Reuters.

Netanyahu also said that he aimed to end ⁠US military aid ⁠to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year deal of receiving $3.8 billion a year - which is largely spent in the United States on equipment - ends in 2028.

Due to a thriving economy, "we can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid that we're receiving, and I propose a 10-year draw down to zero. Now, in the three years that remain in the present memorandum of understanding and another seven years draw it down to zero," Netanyahu said.

"We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership," he said.

World

Iran’s Top Diplomat to Attend ‘Indirect’ Talks with US in Geneva

08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
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Iran’s Top Diplomat to Attend ‘Indirect’ Talks with US in Geneva

08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)
08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)

Iran’s top diplomat was traveling from Tehran on Sunday to Geneva where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US will take place, Iranian state media reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week. Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva, the IRNA state-run news agency reported on its Telegram channel.

Similar talks last year broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, that included the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear program. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.

Regional countries have warned that any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.

The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any detail, which Tehran says it will not agree to.

Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but officials however have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the war in June, Iran has been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, just a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Araghchi is also expected to meet with his Swiss and Omani counterparts, as well as the director general of the UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

World

China Confirms Visa-free Access for Canada, UK Visitors from Feb 17

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, January 29, 2026. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, January 29, 2026. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS
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China Confirms Visa-free Access for Canada, UK Visitors from Feb 17

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, January 29, 2026. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, January 29, 2026. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

China confirmed that Canadian and British citizens will be able to visit the country visa-free from Tuesday, after the two countries' leaders had announced such agreements following official trips to Beijing.

British and Canadian prime ministers Keir Starmer and Mark Carney both visited Beijing in January, seeking to bolster relations with China and pivot from the increasingly mercurial United States, said AFP.

Both leaders had hailed progress following meetings with top Chinese leaders such as President Xi Jinping, including on issues like visa-free access for their citizens to China.

Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed these agreements on Sunday, saying Canadian and British citizens will be able to travel to China visa-free from Tuesday, with the policy in effect until December 31.

"Holders of ordinary passports from these countries can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchanges, or transit for a period not exceeding 30 days," it said in a statement.

This was to "further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries", it added.