Israel says it delayed Iran's presumed nuclear programme by two years
JERUSALEM: Israel claimed on Saturday (Jun 21) it has already set back Iran's presumed nuclear programme by at least two years, a day after United States President Donald Trump warned that Tehran has a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes.
Trump has been mulling whether to involve the US in Israel's bombing campaign, indicating in his latest comments that he could take a decision before the two-week deadline he set this week.
Israel said on Saturday its air force had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran, as it kept up a wave of attacks it says are aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons - an ambition Tehran has denied.
"According to the assessment we hear, we already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb," Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said in an interview published on Saturday.
Saar said Israel's week-long onslaught would continue. "We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat," he told German newspaper Bild.
Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume talks with the US that had been derailed by Israel's attacks.
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".
But Araghchi told NBC News after the meeting that "we're not prepared to negotiate with them (the United States) anymore, as long as the aggression continues".
Trump was dismissive of European diplomacy efforts, telling reporters, "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".
Trump also said he's unlikely to ask Israel to stop its attacks to get Iran back to the table.
"If somebody's winning, it's a little bit harder to do," he said.
Any US involvement would likely feature powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses to destroy an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo.
On the streets of Tehran, many shops were closed and normally busting markets largely abandoned on Friday.
450 MISSILES
A US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said on Friday based on its sources and media reports that at least 657 people have been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.
Iran has not updated its tolls since Sunday, when it said that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
Since Israel launched its offensive on Jun 13, targeting nuclear and military sites but also hitting residential areas, Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people.
A hospital in the Israeli port of Haifa reported 19 wounded, including one person in a serious condition, after the latest Iranian salvo.
Israel's National Public Diplomacy Directorate said more than 450 missiles have been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted military sites and air force bases.
"MADNESS"
Western powers have repeatedly expressed concerns about the rapid expansion of Iran's nuclear programme, questioning in particular the country's accelerated uranium enrichment.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 per cent.
However, it added that there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead.
The agency's chief Rafael Grossi told CNN it was "pure speculation" to say how long it would take Iran to develop weapons.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the conflict was at a "perilous moment" and it was "hugely important that we don't see regional escalation".
Araghchi arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, according to the Tasnim news agency, for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the Iran-Israel conflict.
Switzerland announced it was temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran.
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