European diplomats seek progress with Tehran as Trump considers US action in Iran
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The top diplomats from France, Britain, and Germany are headed to Geneva to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in hopes of finding a diplomatic solution one week into the latest Iran-Israel conflict.
With the clock ticking after the White House said US President Donald Trump will make a decision 'within two weeks' on whether to get directly involved in the fighting, the meeting of foreign ministers on June 20 has taken on even greater importance to stop air strikes that have killed civilians on both sides.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France, Germany and Britain would put 'a diplomatic solution on the table' in Geneva that would comprise oversight of Iran's ballistics activities and how it finances proxies in the region, a resumption of work by the International Atomic Energy Agency inside Iran to ensure uranium enrichment is stopped, and the release of foreigners currently held by Tehran.
'Iran must show that it is willing to join the platform for negotiations we are putting on the table,' Macron said.
Israel has threatened further attacks against Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile assets as the violence showed no signs of easing a week after the Israelis began the air strikes.
'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, reading out a message from Trump on June 19.
The Pentagon has in the past acknowledged that it has helped to shoot down Iranian projectiles launched toward Israel, but it has not become involved in offensive operations against Iran.
During a press briefing, Leavitt said the US president favored a diplomatic solution with Tehran but that his main goal was to ensure that Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon.
She reiterated Trump's insistence that any agreement would have to prohibit uranium enrichment by Iran and ensure that Tehran was not able to get nuclear arms.
Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and has often rejected a ban on uranium enrichment.
'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,' Leavitt said.
'But he's not afraid to use strength as well, I will add,' she told reporters.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump rejected a Wall Street Journal report — which cited three people familiar with the matter — that said he had told aides he had approved plans for US forces to join Israel in the attacks on Iran but that he was first waiting to see if Tehran would give up its nuclear program.
'The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!' Trump wrote.
Bloomberg also reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that US officials are preparing for a potential strike on Iran in the next few days, possibly over the weekend.
In comments to reporters on June 18, Trump said he was 'not looking to fight' Iran but that he might be forced to conduct such operations to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
'I'm not looking to fight,' he said. 'But if it's a choice between fighting and [Iran] having a nuclear weapon, you have to do what you have to do.'
'You may have to fight,' he later stated.
'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' Trump told reporters later outside the White House.
In a televised interview, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is 'capable of striking all of Iran's nuclear facilities' but 'all help is welcome.'
'Trump will do what is good for the United States, and I will do what is good for the state of Israel,' Netanyahu said.
Much of the speculation about the attacks has turned to Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility, which is hidden under a mountain and considered to be out of reach of Israeli weapons but susceptible to US 'bunker-buster' bombs.
Israel vowed on June 19 to 'remove' Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile threat after Iranian air strikes hit a hospital earlier in the day.
Israeli military officials said several populated areas inside the country were attacked by Iran on June 19, including the hospital in the southern city of Beersheba. Local media said there was severe damage to one ward of the hospital, with 40 people suffering mainly minor injuries.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), according to the Tasnim news agency associated with the IRGC, said it had targeted an Israeli military and intelligence headquarters near the Soroka medical center — the only Level 1 trauma center in southern Israel — in Beersheba.
Israel said it bombed nuclear targets in Iran on June 19, including the Natanz and Isfahan sites. It had said the Busher site, the location of the country's only functioning nuclear power plant, was hit, but later retracted the statement.
Early on June 20, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for people in the industrial area of the Iranian village of Kolesh Taleshan, saying it planned to hit military infrastructure there. Details were not immediately available.
Israel launched the current offensive against Iran on June 13 saying it was necessary to halt Tehran's nuclear program, with rights groups saying more than 600 people have been killed, including civilians. Iran responded by launching drones and missiles into Israel, killing some 24 people, according to Israeli officials.
Much of Iran's military and scientific leadership has been killed in air strikes.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on June 19 that there is a 'real risk of escalation' and urged Trump to step back from military action against Iran.
Israel and many of its Western allies, including the United States, accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Tehran has vehemently rejected the accusations, saying its atomic program is purely for civilian purposes.
The fighting has sparked a massive exodus from Tehran and other cities as thousands jam highways seeking safer surroundings.
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