Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the next round of US-China talks could include a discussion of China’s purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, a signal that the focus could shift from more traditional trade issues to ones that cross over into matters of national security.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China’s dependence on Iranian and Russian oil is a key issue in upcoming trade talks.

Russia sought to do this naval drill primarily to show it is still interested in joint cooperation with Iran. Iran and Russia began a naval exercise on Monday.

The meeting followed talks on Sunday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Talks between Tehran and the US were being held through Omani mediators until Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on June 13, which triggered a 12-day war. The attack came just two days before a planned sixth round of negotiations in the Omani capital, Muscat.

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov met with Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh in Moscow to discuss enhancing military cooperation. The meeting comes on the heels of discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian advisor Ali Larijani focused on Middle East issues and Iran's nuclear program.

"Strengthening air defense capabilities is clearly an urgent priority for Iran at the moment," expert Hongda Fan told Newsweek.

Foreign ministry directors general to hold talks in Iran's capital; Tehran says currently no plans to resume talks with US, accuses European nations of breaking deal commitments

Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a U.N. mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a member of Iran's parliamentary national security commission said on Monday,