European, Iranian diplomats to meet as US mulls joining 'Israel' campaign

European foreign ministers will hold talks Friday with their Iranian counterpart, hoping to reach a diplomatic solution to the war with 'Israel' as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of US involvement.
'Israel', claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy a week ago, triggering deadly exchanges.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn Iran will "pay a heavy price" for a strike on an 'Israeli' hospital on Thursday, an attack Tehran said was targeting a military and intelligence base.
European leaders urging de-escalation have scrambled to hold talks with Iran, as Trump said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in 'Israel's' bombing campaign.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday.
Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon", according to the State Department.
Netanyahu welcomed the prospect of US involvement in its campaign, while Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step".
The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan.
While Netanyahu has not publicly said that 'Israel' is trying to topple Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defence minister Israel Katz warned after the strike on 'Israel's' Soroka hospital that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist".
A week of deadly exchanges between the two countries has plunged the Middle East into a new crisis, more than 20 months since Oct. 7, 2023.
Iran imposed a "nationwide internet shutdown" on Thursday –the most extensive blackout since widespread anti-government protests in 2019– internet watchdog NetBlocks said.
The shutdown "impacts the public's ability to stay connected at a time when communications are vital", NetBlocks wrote on X.
Any US involvement in 'Israel's' campaign against Iran would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme.
The US president had favoured a diplomatic route to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran has consistently denied – seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term.
Dozens of US military aircraft were no longer visible at a US base in Qatar on Thursday, satellite images showed -- a possible move to shield them from potential Iranian strikes.
Nuclear sites
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb.
Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent – far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.
'Israel' has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a "harsh response" if "the criminal American government and its stupid president... take action against Islamic Iran".
On Thursday, 'Israel' said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz.
Iranian atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog that the Arak reactor was hit, demanding action to stop "violation of international regulations" by 'Israel'.
Iranian media reported blasts in Tehran late Thursday, while the Revolutionary Guards said more than 100 "combat and suicide" drones were launched at 'Israel'.
In the central 'Israeli' city of Bat Yam, the body of a woman was found in a site hit on Sunday, taking the death toll in Israel from Iranian missiles since June 13 to 25 people, according to authorities.
Iran said Sunday that 'Israeli' strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Authorities have not issued an updated toll since.

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