'Expect conversation to continue': Senior US officials on Trump, Xi discussion on Iran

Washington DC [US], May 11 : Senior US officials said on Sunday that the discussions between US and China are set to continue on the topic of Iran as the two countries gear up for the much-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Speaking about the engagements between the leaders, the senior US officials said that Trump and Xi had spoken multiple times about Iran and also about Russia, how Chinese revenue provides for not only components but also the potential of weapons exports to these two countries.

They said, "The President has spoken multiple times with General Secretary Xi Jinping about the topic of Iran and about the topic of Russia, to include the revenue that China provides for both those regimes and therefore as well as do use goods, components and parts, not to mention the potential of weapons exports."

The officials added that Washington expects the discussions on these issues to continue in the coming days.

The remarks come after the US had last week announced a new wave of sanctions targeting Iran's financial and energy networks, escalating pressure on Tehran's oil revenues and its commercial links with China.

In a post on X, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Iran as "the head of the snake for global terrorism," adding that under the leadership of US President Donald Trump, the Treasury was acting "aggressively" through the initiative titled "Economic Fury".

He said, "Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and under @POTUS' leadership, Treasury is moving aggressively, through Economic Fury, to sever the Iranian military's financial lifelines. We will relentlessly target the regime's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran's attempts to evade sanctions."

He highlighted the X post of the US Treasury Department, which said that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had designated three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses along with affiliated front companies, accusing them of facilitating billions of dollars in transactions that ultimately support Iran's military and regional proxy networks.

The Treasury Department said these exchange houses play a central role in converting Iran's oil revenues, which it claimed to be largely settled in Chinese yuan, into currencies usable by the Iranian government and its allied groups.

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