Israeli and U.S. officials began a series of talks on Sunday on ways of using economic sanctions to step up pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, the Ha'aretz daily reported on its website.

U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni right after arriving here on Sunday.

According to the report, the measures under discussion would target companies and banks involved with Iranian businesses linked to Tehran's nuclear program or assistance to Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian militant organizations.

The U.S. official was also expected to hold talks with senior officials from Israel's security and intelligence establishments, according to Ha'aretz.

The report said that Israeli officials were expecting updates by Levey on the U.S. efforts to convince European and other firms to avoid doing business with Iran.

In turn, Israel would offer the visiting U.S. official assistance in identifying firms working with Iran and the trail of Iranian funding to nuclear and terrorist activities, added the daily.

Source: Xinhua