Diplomacy with Iran can “easily” be started again if US President Donald Trump orders Israel’s leadership to stop its strikes on Iran, Majid Farahani, an official with Iran’s presidency, told CNN.

“Iran believes in civilian dialogue,” he said. “Directly or indirectly is not important.”

“President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone [call] to [the] Israelis,” he said, repeating the Iranian position that talks were impossible while Israeli bombs were striking Iran.

Farahani said that Iran would not support halting nuclear enrichment — which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes — but added that concessions were possible.

“Maybe it can be lower, but we don’t stop it,” he said.

Some context: In recent days, European powers have joined American and Israeli calls for a ban on enrichment, hardening their positions on the key issue, with France putting forward “a clear position on zero enrichment,” France’s foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine told CNN today.

Iran says it needs enriched uranium for peaceful purposes, while also manufacturing large quantities of near-weapons-grade material.

Trump’s decision to open a two-week negotiating window before deciding on striking Iran has offered a slim — if improbable — path to a peace deal between Iran and Israel.

Talks are taking place in Geneva between the foreign ministers from Iran, France, and Germany, along with the EU’s foreign policy chief, the first confirmed face-to-face meeting of its kind since the conflict began.

After days of increasingly aggressive messages from the Trump administration, it has opened the possibility that military action can be averted.

Indeed, Trump’s own camp appears to be starkly divided on whether to pursue direct strikes against Iran.

“If America gets involved in the war,” Farahani said, “there are so many options, and all those options are on the table.”

Watch more from the interview:

@cnn CNN’s Fred Pleitgen is the first western journalist to enter Iran since the latest conflict with Israel started. He interviewed Majid Farahani, an official with the Iranian presidency, about the escalating tensions with Israel, Iran’s nuclear program and what happens if the US gets directly involved in the conflict. #cnn #news ♬ original sound – CNN

Correction: An earlier version of this post included the wrong title for Farahani. He is an official with the Iranian presidency.

By Alice Chancellor with Sebastien Ricci, Ahmad Parhizi and Elodie Le Maou, AFP

Photo: 123RF

Israel’s war against Iran, now in its second week, will be “prolonged”, military chief Eyal Zamir said Friday as the arch rivals traded fire and European powers held talks with the Islamic republic.

“We must be ready for a prolonged campaign,” Zamir told Israelis in a video statement, eight days after his country launched a massive wave of strikes it said aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran has denied.

“We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude,” said Zamir.

“The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead.”

Iran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones, which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.

A hospital in the Israeli port of Haifa reported 19 injured, including one person in serious condition, after the latest Iranian salvo, which President Isaac Herzog said hit a mosque.

Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people since 13 June, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

As US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes, top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany were meeting with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the Europeans were “putting a diplomatic solution on the table”.

On the ground, Israel’s military said it struck missile launchers in southwestern Iran after overnight air raids on dozens of targets including what it called a “nuclear weapons project” research and development centre.

In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday, with a military official saying that “approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted military sites and air forces bases.

‘Betrayal’ of diplomacy

Trump has said he will decide “within the next two weeks” whether to involve the United States in the fighting.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution”, while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon”.

Western governments suspect Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent, there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead.

“So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody… secretly pursuing these activities,” the agency’s chief Rafael Grossi told CNN.

“We haven’t seen that and we have to say it.”

France’s foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that “military solutions are not long-term solutions” to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Araghchi said Israel’s attacks were a “betrayal” of diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington.

“We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process,” he said.

In an interview with German publication Bild, Israel’s top diplomat Gideon Saar said he did not “particularly” believe in diplomacy with Iran.

“All diplomatic efforts so far have failed,” said Saar, whose country had supported Trump’s 2018 decision to abandon a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

Photo: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO

‘Madness’

The UN Security Council convened on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday.

The escalating confrontation is quickly reaching “the point of no return”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday, saying “this madness must end as soon as possible”.

UN chief António Guterres meanwhile pleaded with all sides to “give peace a chance”.

Any US involvement in Israel’s campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses.

In Iran, people fleeing Israel’s attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages.

government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities had restricted internet access to avoid “problems” like cyberattacks.

Iranian authorities have arrested a European “who sought to spy on sensitive areas of the country”, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday.

Protests were held in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers, with demonstrators chanting slogans in support of their leaders, state television showed.

“I will sacrifice my life for my leader,” read a protester’s banner, a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Switzerland announced it was temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfill its role representing US interests in Iran.

– AFP

Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva has raised “vehement objection” to Iran addressing the Human Rights Council ahead of talks with European counterparts in Geneva to try to de-escalate the Israel-Iran conflict, according to a letter seen by Reuters. read more

With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, along with the European Union foreign policy chief, were due to meet in Geneva with Iran’s foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday. “Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one,” said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s foreign minister. For earlier Israel-Iran conflict updates, you may follow this live coverage page

The lack of military engagement by Hezbollah, Iran’s long-time and most strategically placed regional ally is being seen as an anomaly in the recent conflict.

One player is missing from the recent tensions between Iran and Israel.

In what appears to be a pivot away from immediate escalation, US President Donald Trump has set a two-week deadline to decide whether the United States will join Israel’s military campaign against Iran or pursue a diplomatic resolution.

Israeli fighter jets struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces and special units in the Tehran area in recent days, the Israel Defense Forces said on Friday. The operation was carried out with what the IDF described as precise intelligence from its military…

“We need to hear the E3’s initiative on the nuclear issue,” the official said, referring to Britain, France, and Germany.

The official also emphasized the increasing importance of European involvement, saying that Iran is currently not open to direct engagement with the United States.

The official noted that Tehran is not prepared to accept a “zero enrichment” demand, especially under ongoing military pressure from Israel.

Iran is open to discussing limits on its uranium enrichment program but will not agree to a complete halt, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, according to a report by Reuters.

“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the army said in a statement.

The Israeli army said on Friday sirens had sounded across the country after missiles were fired from Iran.

A news anchor described “images in the sky over the occupied territories (Israel) of Iranian missiles arriving”, as the channel broadcast the footage with military music playing in the background.

Iran fired a fresh salvo of missiles at Israel on Friday, state television reported, on the eighth day of the war between the two foes.

Hezbollah suffered severe losses in a war with Israel that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November and has so far remained on the sidelines the Iran-Israel war.

Demonstrators carried the Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as that of Hezbollah, and chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel.” Some also chanted pledges of allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is revered as religious authority by many Shiite Muslims.

Hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs after Friday afternoon prayers to demonstrate in support of Tehran in the ongoing Israel-Iran war.

“We expect the European foreign ministers to take a firm stance vis-a-vis Iran and demand that there is a complete rollback of the nuclear programme, the dismantling of ballistic missile arsenal and programme, and putting an end to Iran’s regional terrorist activities and active support for its terrorist proxies,” Daniel Meron told journalists outside the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

European foreign ministers must take a “firm stance” in talks Friday with their Iranian counterpart on Tehran’s nuclear programme, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva said.

“MDA medics and paramedics are providing medical treatment and are taking a 16-year-old boy to the hospital in serious condition, with shrapnel in his upper body, and a 54-year-old man in moderate condition with a shrapnel injury to his lower limbs,” the MDA said in a statement, without specifying their location.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service reported two people injured by shrapnel on Friday, including a 16-year-old in serious condition, after the latest barrage of missiles fired from Iran.

“Unfortunately, the genocide in Gaza and the conflict with Iran are quickly reaching the point of no return. This madness must end as soon as possible,” he said, warning the consequences could affect the region, Europe and Asia “for many years”.

The escalating Iran-Israel confrontation is quickly reaching “the point of no return”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday, as Washington mulled the prospect of entering the war.

“We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva ahead of a crunch meeting with European foreign ministers.

Iran’s foreign minister on Friday condemned the Israeli attacks against the Islamic republic as a “betrayal” of diplomatic efforts with the US, saying Tehran and Washington had been due to craft a “promising agreement” on the Iranian nuclear programme.

He said that “we are entitled … and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty and security with all force. This is our inherent right.”

Araghchi asserted that “any justification for this unjust and criminal war would be tantamount to complicity.”

He said “this is an unjust war imposed on my people.” He said that Israel’s “attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes.”

“In view of the intensity of military operations in Iran and the highly unstable situation on the ground, the FDFA has decided to temporarily close the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Switzerland announced Friday the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will decide within two weeks whether the U.S. will get directly involved.

The decision is based on the “current security situation” and not the anticipation that the war between Israel and Iran will escalate further, the statement said. It says the embassy in will operate remotely for the time being.

The British Foreign Office said in a statement that “we take the protection of our staff and British nationals extremely seriously and we have long advised against all travel to Iran.”

“To the parties to the conflict — the potential parties to the conflict — and to the Security Council as the representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: Give peace a chance,” Guterres said, in a veiled reference to the United States, which is considering intervening militarily to support Israel.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded Friday with all sides to “give peace a chance” in the Iran-Israel conflict, warning that the violence could spiral out of control.

About 20 missiles were fired in the latest strikes, an Israeli military official said, and at least two people were hurt, according to the Israeli ambulance service.

Iran fired missiles at the southern Israeli city of Beersheba early on Friday and Israeli media said initial reports pointed to missile impacts in Tel Aviv, the Negev and Haifa after further attacks hours later.

A week into its campaign, Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets overnight, including missile production sites, a research body involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran.

Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict.

Fears of catastrophe rippled through the Gulf on Thursday when the Israeli military said it had struck a site in Bushehr on the Gulf coast – home to Iran’s only nuclear power station – only to say later that the announcement was a mistake.

Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities in its military campaign, but that it also wants to avoid any nuclear disaster in a region that is home to tens of millions of people and produces much of the world’s oil.

Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations so far pose only limited risks of contamination, experts say. But they warn that any attack on the country’s nuclear power station at Bushehr could cause a nuclear disaster.

“Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council

The head of the UN atomic watchdog warned Friday that an Israeli strike on Iran’s southern nuclear plant of Bushehr could trigger a regional disaster, adding that radiation had not yet been detected in the conflict.

“The IAEA can guarantee through a watertight inspection system that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the UN Security Council.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog pleaded Friday for a diplomatic solution to end Israel’s strikes on Iran, saying his agency could guarantee strict monitoring in any deal on putting Iranian nuclear technology under international control.

Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel.

“We did our best to save as much of the samples as we could from the labs, from the buildings, while we were fighting the fire,” physicist Roee Ozeri, Weizmann’s vice president for development and communications, told Reuters.

No one was hurt as the campus was empty overnight, but one part of a building collapsed entirely, while in the remaining part the walls were blown out, exposing a tangle of twisted metal, blasted debris and blackened cement.

The missile struck the institute’s campus at Rehovot, on the southern periphery of Tel Aviv, in the early hours of Sunday, damaging multiple buildings and prompting researchers to clamber into the ruins to save samples even as fire raged.

Researchers at Israel’s prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science have been scrambling to save their experiments after an Iranian missile destroyed a building containing dozens of cutting-edge laboratories.

Rambam hospital in the port city of Haifa said it received 19 wounded people from the site of an Iranian missile strike. Two people had serious-to-moderate injuries and the rest were lightly hurt, the hospital said.

Other attacks on Friday targeted the capital Tehran, the central city of Isfahan and western areas of the country, military statements said.

“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force struck surface-to-air missile batteries in southwestern Iran,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it carried out a fresh wave of attacks on Iran on Friday, targeting missile launchers in the southwest of the country.

“Affording the Iranian foreign minister the floor before this body continues to undermine the council’s credibility and constitutes a blatant betrayal of the many victims of this regime worldwide,” Daniel Meron said in a letter addressed to council president Jurg Lauber.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva has raised “vehement objection” to Iran addressing the Human Rights Council ahead of talks with European counterparts in Geneva to try to de-escalate the Israel-Iran conflict, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

“If Bandar Abbas port doesn’t function, it will affect exports not only to Iran but to Afghanistan and Central Asia also. We have been informed that there is adequate capacity at Chabahar, and this needs to be explored urgently,” the exporter said.

The official also said that while there has been no immediate impact on shipments to Iran, disruptions are likely if the situation worsens.

This was suggested during a meeting convened by the commerce ministry on assessing impact of the war on India’s trade. It was chaired by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal.

The official also said that the air freight rates have already seen a 15 per cent rise, and traders expect both air and sea freight costs to increase further if the conflict escalates.

Exporters have suggested shifting cargo movement from Bandar Abbas port to the Chabahar port in the wake of Iran-Israel conflict, stating any further escalation in the war would severely impact trade with Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia, an industry official said on Friday.

Some 5,000 Afghans are returning daily through the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, according to the aid agency World Vision International.

Iran’s war with Israel, which started last Friday, is also forcing them to flee as Israeli strikes target the country.

Millions of Afghans have called Iran home for decades. But they have been leaving in large numbers since October 2023, when authorities announced a crackdown on foreigners who it said were in the country illegally. Neighbouring Pakistan launched a similar campaign around the same time.

Thousands of Afghans are fleeing Iran every day to escape deportation and war, a major international aid agency and Taliban official said Friday.

According to the report, the Iranian delegation underscored that halting military action is key to creating conditions for diplomacy. The first round of discussions was described as respectful and serious, with all parties sharing their perspectives. IRNA noted that some points raised during the talks may require further clarification to support continued diplomatic engagement.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that talks between Iranian and European officials in Geneva have paused to allow for internal consultations by the European side.

Traders said it suggested Trump preferred negotiations to end the fighting, as top European diplomats met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday to discuss a “diplomatic solution” to end the war.

The Brent international crude benchmark contract dropped three percent, weighing on the share prices of energy majors, after US President Donald Trump said he would decide whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran within the next two weeks.

But investors remain wary of further volatility in the coming days, with analysts citing uncertainty over the Middle East conflicts and the lingering uncertainty over US tariffs.

Oil prices retreated Friday while US and European stock markets mostly gained ground as concerns over a war escalation in Iran eased.

“On the basis of the assessments made by the independent international institutions… there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations,” said the document drafted by the EU’s diplomatic service and seen by AFP.

Israel may have fallen short of its human rights obligations under a cooperation deal with the EU over its offensive in Gaza, a review of the agreement found Friday, upping pressure on Brussels to take action.

“And this requires, of course, not only our careful attention to the events taking place, but also the search for solutions, the search for solutions, preferably by peaceful means, in all directions.”

“It is disturbing. I am speaking without any irony, without any jokes. Of course, there is a lot of conflict potential, it is growing, and it is right under our noses, and it affects us directly,” said Putin.

He mentioned Russia’s own war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Iran, and said he was concerned by what was happening around nuclear facilities in Iran where Russian specialists are building two new nuclear reactors for Tehran.

Putin, speaking at an economic forum in St Petersburg, said there was a lot of potential for conflict in the world and that it was growing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he was worried when asked if he was concerned that the world was heading towards World War Three.

Israel launched attacks against Iran last Friday which have combined targeted assassinations of key military personnel with strikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities.

“We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude, against such an enemy. We must be ready for a prolonged campaign,” Zamir said in a video statement to Israelis.

Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir warned Friday that his country should be “ready for a prolonged campaign” against Iran, as the longtime foes exchanged fire for the eighth day.

“These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter,” he said, adding: “They also constitute a threat to the sacred sites and regions which might cause strong popular reactions, considering the importance of these holy sites for our peoples.”

“Twenty airplanes started, followed by 30 airplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities,” he said.

Abbas Kadhom Obaid Al-Fatlawi, charge d’affaires of Iraq’s U.N. mission, told the UN Security Council the aircraft came from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas.

Iraq’s representative to the United Nations said 50 Israeli warplanes planes violated Iraqi airspace shortly before a U.N. meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday.

“Israel apparently declared that it will continue this strike for as many days as it takes. We are alarmed by credible report that the United States… may be joining this war,” he said.

“We will not stop,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon said. “Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed, not until our people and yours are safe.”

Iran said it would continue to defend itself against Israel during a UN Security Council session on Friday, while Israel’s UN ambassador vowed that his country would not stop its attacks until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled.

Officials are still looking into why the alert message was sent. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public yet.

An automated message that was sent out to military personnel at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey Friday afternoon warning of an incoming ballistic missile was sent in error, and there was no missile threat, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

Grossi called for “maximum restraint” on the Israel-Iran war, adding: “A diplomatic solution is within reach if the necessary political will is there.”

He said elements for an agreement on reining in Iran’s nuclear program have been discussed.

U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the U.N. Security Council the International Atomic Energy Agency can do this “through a watertight inspection system.”

The U.S. Navy now has five guided-missile destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, according to U.S. defense officials. This is a significant increase. Earlier this week, the U.S. had just one in the eastern Med. Following Israel’s attack on Iran, the U.S. had two positioned in… pic.twitter.com/BeZ8AkDysW

The United States has ramped up its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, deploying five guided-missile destroyers in the region, up from just one earlier this week, according to reports. The move follows Israel’s strikes on Iran and comes amid heightened regional tensions and threats of further escalation.

“It is illusory and dangerous to want to impose a regime change from the outside. It is up to the people to decide their own destiny,” Barrot added, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We invited the Iranian minister to consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for,” he said after he and his British, German and EU counterparts held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva.

European powers on Friday urged Iran to hold nuclear talks “without awaiting” an end to Israeli air strikes on the Islamic republic, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

Iran has been launching daily missile salvos at Israel for the past week since a wide-ranging Israeli attack on its nuclear and military facilities triggered war.

At least 19 people were injured in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa as Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran on Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), jolting the region as tensions remain high amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Tehran has accused Washington of complicity in the Israeli attacks and insists that negotiations are “meaningless” while the offensive persists, further deepening the diplomatic deadlock.

While both sides expressed willingness to continue engagement, Iran reiterated that it would not enter talks with the United States as long as Israel continued its military strikes on Iranian territory.

European foreign ministers and Iranian officials concluded four hours of discussions in Geneva without reaching any breakthrough as hopes for restarting US-Iran dialogue remained stalled, according to report.

Expected to brief the Senate are Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau.

The session comes amid growing bipartisan pressure from lawmakers seeking clarity on the administration’s strategy and intelligence assessments.

The Trump administration will deliver its first all-senators classified briefing on the escalating Israel-Iran conflict on Tuesday, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the arrangements.

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Israel and Iran’s air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks.

Iran has launched a fresh wave of attacks against Israel, with missiles targeting the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was struck yesterday. The air strikes reportedly hit a tech park in the city and fires were reported near a Microsoft office.

Meanwhile, Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, said the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those killed include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side.

British, German and French foreign ministers will meet their Iranian counterpart Abbas Argachi in Geneva for nuclear talks, in a first diplomatic sit-down between Europe and Iran as Trump weighs US involvement.

Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.

“Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it’s up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The role of the United States remained uncertain. Lammy also met Trump’s special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, on Thursday in Washington, and said they had discussed a possible deal.

With inputs from Reuters

US President Donald Trump claimed that the United States had taken “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” He further warned Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei saying that “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The long-simmering tensions between Israel and Iran have exploded into open warfare since Friday, June 13, 2025, marking an unprecedented period of direct military confrontation. Israel initiated a major campaign of fighter jet and drone strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear and military sites, including surface-to-surface missile production facilities, detection radar sites, and surface-to-air missile launchers. Reports indicate strikes on residential areas and fuel depots, with Iran’s health ministry reporting at least 224 fatalities and over 1,200 injuries, mostly civilians. Israeli forces have also reportedly killed several top Iranian military commanders and atomic scientists. The IDF claims to have destroyed one-third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers and achieved “full air superiority over Tehran,” also striking an Iranian refueling aircraft 2,300 km away.

In retaliation, Tehran has launched barrages of missiles and drones, hitting Israeli cities and towns, causing at least 24 deaths and 592 injuries, with a major oil refinery in Haifa among the targets. The IDF confirmed intercepting over 100 Iranian UAVs.

The international community, including China, Turkey, and G7 leaders, has urgently called for de-escalation, but both sides remain defiant. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts the offensive aims to thwart “existential” nuclear and missile threats and has not ruled out targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggesting it would “end the conflict.” The UN’s IAEA reported physical damage to an above-ground component of Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility but normal external radiation levels, while warning of potential internal contamination. Amidst the crisis, planned nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington were called off.

GENEVA: Iran said Friday it would not resume nuclear negotiations with the United States until Israel halts its attacks, as Israel’s military chief warned the week-old war will be “prolonged”.

A series of blasts were heard in Tehran on Friday as Iran’s Fars news agency said air defences had been activated, as Israel kept up its bombardment and Iran launched missiles at its arch enemy.

“We must be ready for a prolonged campaign,” Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir told Israelis in a video statement, eight days after his country launched a massive wave of strikes it said were aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran has denied.

“The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead,” he said.

As US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes, top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva.

Referring to nuclear negotiations with Washington that had been derailed by the war, Araghchi said after the meeting that “Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped”.

Tehran did “support the continuation of discussion with” the European countries and was willing “to meet again in the near future”, Araghchi told reporters.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said “we invited the Iranian minister to consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for”.

Barrot said there “can be no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem” and warned that it was “dangerous to want to impose a regime change” in Iran, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On the streets of Tehran, many shops were closed and normally busting markets largely abandoned on Friday, an AFP journalist reported.

“I’m not afraid of the war, I stay open but business is really bad,” said a vendor at the Tajrish market who declined to give his name for security reasons.

Nearby, police set up a checkpoint while workers repaired a road damaged in a recent Israeli strike.