World
Israel ‘will not stop’ attacks until Iran’s nuclear threat is ‘dismantled’, says Israel’s UN ambassador
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations has vowed “we will not stop” attacks on Iran until the “nuclear threat is dismantled” and “its war machine is disarmed”.
The two countries traded angry accusations at the United Nations Security Council, as its secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could “ignite a fire no one can control”.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon vowed: “We will not stop. Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed.”
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His Iranian counterpart Amir Saeid Iravani said Iran would continue to respond to Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear sites that Israel sees as part of a weapons programme.
Donald Trump is seeking advice about whether to support Israel’s military involvement and is expected make a decision in the next two weeks.
But he told reporters in New Jersey on Friday that his director of national intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in suggesting there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
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Trump: US intelligence ‘wrong’ on Iran
Talks between Iranian and European ministers took place on Friday, but the US president was dismissive of the discussions.
“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one”.
But he added that he might support a ceasefire between Iran and Israel “depending on the circumstances”.
Lammy on ‘perilous moment’
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned “this is a perilous moment, and it is hugely important that we don’t see regional escalation of this conflict”, after he and his German, French and EU counterparts met Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva.
He also referred to the role of the US in potential negotiations: “There is a… short window to find a diplomatic solution for the Iranians to… end their nuclear programme.
“We’re urging diplomacy. It’s important they get back into serious talks with the United States.”
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Lammy warns of ‘perilous moment’
Iran says attacks are ‘grave war crimes’
But the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict, did not reveal any indication of an immediate breakthrough.
Mr Araghchi described the talks as “a very serious but respectful discussion” but condemned what he called Israel’s “atrocities”, adding that “Iran will continue exercising its legitimate right of self-defence against the regime”.
“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again… once aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed. In this regard, I made it clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are not negotiable,” he added.
Earlier, he called Israel’s attacks on nuclear facilities “grave war crimes”.
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On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely.
Meanwhile, the UK government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country’s airspace reopens.
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Iran wants ‘endless negotiations’
Jason Brodsky, policy director at the US-based pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran, told Sky News the talks in Geneva would not satisfy the US president.
He said: “It seems that the maximum that the Islamic Republic is prepared to give still does not meet the minimum that President Trump is able to accept.
“I think the Islamic Republic wants to lure the United States back into an endless negotiating process. They think they can dominate this process and manipulate President Trump.
“President Trump has made it very clear that a deadline means a deadline. And he has red lines as well. And his red lines is zero enrichment in Iran.”
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Iran ‘wants to lure US into an endless negotiating process’
Protests over Israeli strikes
On Friday, thousands of people protested in Iran’s capital Tehran after a week of Israeli strikes which have killed at least 657 people and wounded 2,037 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
Anti-Israeli protest in Tehran after Friday prayers. Pic: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters
Israel’s military says 25 fighter jets carried out airstrikes on Friday morning targeting “missile storage and launch infrastructure components” in western Iran.
In the Israeli city of Haifa, at least 19 people were wounded by an Iranian missile barrage.
UN issues nuclear warning
Addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned against attacks on Iran’s nuclear reactors.
Rafael Grossi, who heads the UN nuclear watchdog, has warned about Israeli attacks on nuclear sites. Pic: Reuters
“A direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” said Rafael Grossi, chief of the UN nuclear watchdog.
Israel has not targeted Iran’s nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the country’s uranium enrichment sites.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, although it enriches uranium up to 60%, well beyond the level required for an atomic power station and a step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the IAEA.