Israel, Iran show no signs of backing down as conflict enters its second week
European officials meet with Iran foreign minister after Trump gives time for more talks
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 U.S. President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that he had instructed the military to intensify attacks on "symbols of the regime" in the Iranian capital Tehran, aiming to destabilize it.
"We must strike at all the symbols of the regime and the mechanisms of oppression of the population, such as the Basij [militia], and the regime's power base, such as the Revolutionary Guard," Katz said in a statement.
Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear program is peaceful.
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.
Iran says nuclear scientist killed
An Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in a strike on a building in Tehran on Friday, state Israeli broadcaster Kan and other local media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reports.
Iran's emergency services said on Friday that five hospitals had been damaged in Israeli strikes.
Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites.
- Are you a Canadian currently in Iran or Israel? We want to hear from you. Send an email to ask@cbc.ca.
Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. 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.
With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were meeting in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday.
"There is no room for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops," Araghchi was quoted as saying on Iranian state TV on Friday.
With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising.
But Iranian activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack.
"How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
Trump loyalists divided
Separate talks between Iran and the U.S. collapsed when Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion on June 12.
The role of the United States remained uncertain. Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, has spoken with Araghchi several times since last week, sources say.
The White House said Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday. The president has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict.
Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker-buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide.
Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would do what's best for America and the U.S. was "already helping a lot."
While some Republicans in Congress are urging Trump to help Israel decimate Iran's nuclear capabilities, other loyalists of the president are against such military intervention, evoking the long and costly campaigns the U.S. engaged in after 9/11 in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Damage in Beersheba again
At dawn on Friday, the Israeli military issued a fresh warning of an incoming barrage of missiles from Iran. At least one made a direct impact in Beersheba, Israel's largest southern city, which has been targeted in recent days.
The missile struck near residential apartments, office buildings, and industrial facilities, leaving a large crater and ripping off the facade of at least one apartment complex while damaging several others.
"We have a direct strike next to one of the buildings. The damage here is quite [extensive]," paramedic Shafir Botner said.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan aired footage showing cars engulfed in flames, thick plumes of smoke and shattered windows at apartment buildings.
At least six people sustained light injuries in the blast, according to Botner, who said that first responders were still searching apartments for casualties.
On Thursday, Iran hit a major hospital in Beersheba.
With files from The Associated Press