The war between Israel and Iran entered the eighth day on Friday, amidst planned talks between Iran’s foreign minister and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK over Iran’s nuclear programme and the possibility of ending the war.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in Geneva for the talks, which is considered the first real diplomatic push to end the week-long war.
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British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he believes “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution” after meeting senior US officials on Thursday, Al Jazeera reports.
This is also the first substantial European involvement in the conflict since Israel launched its surprise attacks last week.
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Europe has been divided in its stance on Israel’s attack on Iran.
While Germany welcomed the development and declared support for Israel, France has warned against an escalation that could destabilise the entire region.
Europe has played a major role in the Iranian nuclear challenges and in producing the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear activities, reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
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But President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018, and Iran resumed uranium enrichment activities.
Israel accuses Iran of war crimes
As the war escalates, Iran shot a barrage of missiles into Israel on Thursday and hit a hospital in Beersheba, a town in the southern part of the country.
Israel decried the attack and accused Iran of “war crimes.”
While Iran claimed it targeted a military site near Soroka Hospital and not the hospital itself, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister insisted that the strike was deliberate and criminal.
In a post on X, Sharren Haskel stated that the hospital serves as the main medical centre for the entire Negev region.
She also wrote that, “Iran is targeting Israeli children. Missiles rain down on towns and cities where kids should be playing, learning and sleeping safely in their beds.
“This is terror aimed at the most innocent from the genocidal maniacs in Tehran. The world must not stay silent.”
The country also disclosed that about 24 people have been killed and 271 people were injured in the strikes reported across the country.
Iranian state media last updated the death toll on June 15, reporting that 224 people had been killed.
However, the Human Rights Activists News Agency(HRANA), a Washington-based organisation that has been monitoring Iran for years, has reported that about 639 people have been killed in the country since Friday.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that the conflict began on 13 June, when Israel carried out strikes on Iran, resulting in the deaths of several high-ranking generals and atomic scientists.
Iran, in response, fired dozens of retaliatory missiles and drones into Israel hours later.
Both parties have repeatedly vowed to intensify attacks on each other over the past week. Last Friday, Israel stated that the conflict is likely to last for weeks and not days.
READ ALSO: Israel-Iran War: Two drones fall in Jordan, injure child
US to decide involvement in two weeks
Meanwhile, the White House has disclosed that Mr Trump is expected to decide within the next two weeks whether the US will become involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that President Trump believes there is a strong possibility for negotiations, though it remains uncertain whether talks with Iran will happen any time soon.
“I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks. That’s a quote directly from President Trump,” she said.
She also added that, “The president is always interested in a diplomatic solution … he is a peacemaker in chief. He is the peace through strength president. And so if there’s a chance for diplomacy, the president’s always going to grab it. But he’s not afraid to use strength as well.”
The US had earlier tried to distance itself from the attack against Iran.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had declared that the US was not involved in the strikes shortly after Israel’s strikes hit Iran last Thursday.
He described the strikes as a “unilateral action” against Iran, and warned against an attack on “American forces and interests.”
Iran has not attacked US facilities or personnel since the war with Israel started.
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