WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed Wednesday to intensify a hardline push aimed at shrinking Iran oil exports to China. The effort, described by officials as part of a renewed “maximum pressure” campaign, is intended to squeeze Tehran’s main source of cash while U.S. envoys pursue separate talks with Iran on the nuclear standoff and the White House weighs how to avoid a broader rupture with China, Feb. 15, 2026.
The agreement was first reported by Axios and later detailed by Reuters, which cited U.S. officials briefed on the White House discussion. Axios quoted a senior U.S. official as saying the two leaders agreed to go “full force” with “maximum pressure” to curb Iranian oil sales tied to China.
Hardline strategy focuses on Iran oil exports to China
U.S. officials have not laid out a single, public playbook for targeting Iran oil exports to China, but the options under discussion include tougher enforcement against shipping networks and sanctions on intermediaries and refineries, as well as broader economic penalties aimed at countries that keep buying Iranian barrels. The administration has pointed to existing sanctions authorities and compliance guidance maintained by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Axios said Trump signed an executive order about 10 days ago that would allow his administration to recommend tariffs of up to 25 percent on countries that keep doing business with Iran.
The pressure campaign is calibrated against the risk of deepening friction with Beijing. China’s foreign ministry defended its trade with Iran, saying “normal cooperation between countries” conducted under international law should be respected, according to the Reuters report. Axios said the White House has also been weighing how any new penalties could complicate plans for a U.S.-China leaders’ meeting in Beijing in April.
Talks with Iran and China continue in parallel
Even as the U.S. and Israel discussed tightening the screws on Tehran’s oil sales to China, Washington has continued indirect diplomacy with Iran through Omani intermediaries while signaling it is building military leverage in the region. Reuters reported that U.S. and Iranian diplomats met last week via Omani mediation as U.S. military planners prepared for the possibility of sustained operations if diplomacy fails.
Why the oil trade is the pressure point
China accounts for more than 80 percent of Iran’s seaborne crude exports, leaving Tehran with few alternative buyers because of U.S. sanctions. A Reuters analysis citing data from Kpler estimated China bought an average of 1.38 million barrels per day of Iranian oil in 2025 — a figure that underscores why Iran oil exports to China remain central to the sanctions debate.
Background: sanctions and evasion networks built over years
Iran oil exports to China have grown even as U.S. restrictions tightened, aided by discounted pricing and opaque logistics that make enforcement difficult. In a 2024 country analysis brief, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Iran increased crude output from 2020 to 2023 as shipments to China rose, despite sanctions that constrained formal trade channels. The brief said the United States expanded sanctions in April 2024 to cover ports, vessels and refineries involved in purchases of Iran’s oil.
Earlier reporting has documented how the trade adapted. A 2023 Reuters report on Iranian export flows said much of the crude headed to China was rebranded as oil from other countries to evade sanctions. A separate Reuters analysis in late 2024 said analysts expected a tougher U.S. posture could reduce Iranian crude exports but warned that cutting volumes to China would be difficult given established evasion networks and demand for discounted barrels.
For now, U.S. officials are signaling that Iran oil exports to China will be treated as both an economic lever and a diplomatic test — a lever to pressure Iran’s leadership as negotiations proceed, and a test of how far Washington is willing to push China-linked entities without triggering a wider trade or security confrontation.
