US House of Representatives lawmakers introduced a bipartisan measure Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, after his administration announced it was bypassing Congress to transfer arms to the kingdom and other allies.

The lower chamber's pushback against the White House comes a week after US senators across the political spectrum also moved to prevent the $8.1 billion sale.

The United States on Friday gave Turkey until the end of July to abandon its purchase of a major Russian missile defense system, which Washington considers incompatible with Ankara's participation in the F-35 fighter jet program.

If by July 31 Turkey does not renounce the S-400 system, Turkish pilots training in the United States on the F-35 will be expelled, and agreements with Turkish firms subcontracted for manufacturing the F-35 stealth warplane will be cancelled, Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters.

Iran hit out at the United States on Monday for "causing tensions" after President Donald Trump said his government was not seeking regime change and that he would welcome talks with Tehran.

Looking for ways to hit back at Washington as a tariff fight escalates, President Xi Jinping and his economy czar visited a Chinese factory that processes rare earths — exotic minerals used in electric cars, mobile phones and other technology.

Rare earths are "an important strategic resource," the official Xinhua News Agency cited Xi as saying.

President Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Iran on Sunday, suggesting that if the Islamic republic attacks American interests, it will be destroyed.

U.S. diplomats warned Saturday that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being "misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The warning relayed by U.S. diplomatic posts from the Federal Aviation Administration underlined the risks the current tensions pose to a region crucial to global air travel. It also served as a grim reminder that 30 years ago, the U.S. mistook an Iranian passenger jet for a warplane in the wake of a naval battle with Tehran, killing all 290 people aboard.

China said Monday it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods from June 1, in retaliation for the latest round of U.S. tariff hikes and Washington's plans to target almost all Chinese imports.

The United States is deploying an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery to bolster an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers already sent to the Gulf, ratcheting up pressure Saturday on archfoe Iran.

A Chinese trade team is still preparing to head to Washington for negotiations despite President Donald Trump's threat to raise tariffs later this week, Beijing said Monday.

Top US and Chinese trade negotiators held productive talks in Beijing on Wednesday, the American side said, as the economic superpowers head towards an endgame in a dispute that has hit businesses with bruising tariffs.