A week into their war, Israel and Iran launch new strikes even as diplomatic effort gets underway

TEL AVIV Israel AP Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday as President Donald Trump weighed U S military involvement and new diplomatic efforts got underway with Iran s foreign minister arriving in Geneva for talks Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America s bunker-buster bombs He stated he ll decide within two weeks whether the U S military will get directly involved in the war given the substantial chance for renewed negotiations over Tehran s nuclear plan Britain s foreign secretary reported he met at the White House with U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the anticipated for a deal that could cool the conflict Before flying to Geneva for meetings with the European Union s top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom France and Germany Iran s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared his country was not seeking negotiations with anyone as long as Israel s attacks continued He also accused the U S of collaborating with Israel noting that Trump regularly used we in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran It is the Americans who want talks he stated in comments Thursday that were broadcast Friday by Iranian state television They ve sent messages several times very serious ones but we made it explicitly clear to them that as long as this aggression and invasion continue there is absolutely no room for talk or diplomacy We are engaged in legitimate self-defense and this defense will not stop under any circumstances He added that he expected the Switzerland talks to focus only on Iran s nuclear venture and that Iran s missile capabilities were for defending the country and not up for discussion French President Emmanuel Macron reported top European diplomats in Geneva will make a comprehensive diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation to Iran as a key response to the threat represented by Iran s nuclear operation No one can seriously believe that this threat can be met with Israel s current operations alone he advised reporters on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show saying a few plants are heavily fortified and nobody knows exactly where all uranium enrichment is taking place We need to regain control on Iran s nuclear undertaking through technical expertise and negotiation Iran had previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors in to its nuclear sites under a deal with the U S France China Russia Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief and other provisions After Trump pulled the U S unilaterally out of the deal during his last term however Iran began enriching uranium to higher levels and limiting access to its facilities Israel says air campaign will target more sites Israel noted it conducted airstrikes into Friday morning in Iran with more than aircraft hitting what it explained were industrial sites to manufacture missiles It did not elaborate on the locations It also reported it hit the headquarters of Iran s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research known by its acronym in Farsi SPND The U S in the past has linked that agency to alleged Iranian research and testing tied to the feasible expansion of nuclear explosive devices It also carried out airstrikes targeting the areas around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran where the military reported fighter jets struck missile storage and launch infrastructure components Friday morning There had been reports of anti-aircraft fire in the areas Iran did not directly acknowledge the losses and has not discussed the damage done so far to its military in the weeklong war We are strengthening our air control in the region and advancing our air offensive Israeli military spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin advised reporters We have more sites to strike in Tehran western Iran and other places Israeli airstrikes also reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday Iranian media disclosed The Israeli military had warned the population to flee the area around Rasht s Industrial City southwest of the city s downtown But with Iran s internet shut off to the outside world it s unclear just how a great number of people could see the message Damage from missiles in southern Israel In Israel the paramedic facility Magen David Adom or MDA declared Iranian missiles struck a residential area in southern Israel causing damage to buildings including one six-story building They have provided therapeutic remedy to five people with minor injuries such as bruises smoke inhalation and anxiety it commented Later Friday as Araghchi s plane approached Geneva Israel s military warned of more incoming Iranian missiles and air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv while several loud explosions could also be heard in the Beersheba area The MDA mentioned a -year-old boy was in serious condition after suffering shrapnel wounds to his upper body and a -year-old man was in moderate condition after a shrapnel injury to his legs It did not disclose the location where the two were wounded On Thursday at least patients and healthcare workers were wounded in a strike on the Soroka Health Center in the southern city of Beersheba After that attack Israel s defense minister threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the Iranian missile crashed into the hospital Israel s military has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals this man absolutely should not continue to exist Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted he trusted that Trump would do what s best for America Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the hospital he added I can tell you that they re already helping a lot The war between Israel and Iran erupted June with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites top generals and nuclear scientists At least people including civilians have been killed in Iran and more than wounded according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group Iran has retaliated by firing missiles and drones at Israel according to Israeli army estimates Largest part have been shot down by Israel s multitiered air defenses but at least people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded Iran has long maintained its nuclear campaign is for peaceful purposes But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of Israel is widely concluded to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons operation but has never acknowledged it The Israeli air campaign has targeted Iran s enrichment site at Natanz centrifuge workshops around Tehran a nuclear site in Isfahan and what the army assesses to be the majority of Iran s ballistic missile launchers The destruction of those launchers has contributed to the steady decline in Iranian attacks since the start of the conflict