By Titilope Adako
Israel says its recent airstrikes on Iranian missile storage and launch sites have delayed Tehran’s nuclear programme by at least two to three years.
This follows President Donald Trump’s warning that Iran has only “a maximum of two weeks” to avoid potential American strikes. Trump hinted that a decision on US involvement in the conflict may be taken before the two-week deadline lapses.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told German newspaper Bild that the country’s military campaign is intended to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons—a goal Iran has consistently denied.
“We already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb,” Saar said, adding that the operation would continue.
Meanwhile, top European diplomats met with Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, urging him to resume dialogue with the United States. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated, “We invited the Iranian minister to consider negotiations with all sides, including the US, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for.”
However, Araghchi rejected the proposal, telling NBC News, “We’re not prepared to negotiate with them (the US) anymore, as long as the aggression continues.”
Trump dismissed the European diplomatic push, saying, “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.” He also said he was unlikely to ask Israel to halt its offensive. “If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do,” he said.
Any US military involvement would likely involve the use of specialised bunker-busting bombs to target underground facilities such as the uranium enrichment site in Fordo.
The ongoing conflict has had devastating consequences on both sides. In Iran, shops and markets in Tehran remained shut.
A US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported that at least 657 people have died, including 263 civilians, though Iran’s last official toll reported 224 deaths on Sunday.
Israel says it has been targeted with more than 450 missiles and around 400 drones since the Iranian retaliation began.
Nineteen people were injured in Haifa following the latest Iranian attacks.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium to 60% purity—unprecedented for a country without nuclear weapons—but said there’s no evidence Tehran can yet assemble a functioning nuclear warhead. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi described such claims as “pure speculation.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that the crisis was at “a perilous moment,” urging all sides to prevent regional escalation.
Meanwhile, the Arab League held an emergency meeting in Istanbul ahead of a weekend summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Switzerland also announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran, though it said it would continue to represent US interests in Iran.
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