Ahead of talks with European ministers, Iran rules out ceasefire amid ongoing Israeli attacks
Atomic symbol and Iranian flag are seen in this illustration taken September 8, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Geneva for talks with officials from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, but Tehran has ruled out any ceasefire negotiations while Israeli military attacks persist.
As Israel's military attacks against Iran entered its second week on Friday, Iranian officials reiterated that Araghchi's presence in Geneva is solely to hear the European perspective, not to engage in formal discussions.
🔴 Iran's FM Araghchi: We won’t negotiate over missiles. The US is complicit in Israeli aggression and has repeatedly asked for talks — but as long as the aggression continues, there's nothing to discuss.
Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTS2ei pic.twitter.com/YA3yJl0jnkTehran has vowed to continue retaliatory measures in response to Israel’s attack, stating that dialogue will only resume once Tel Aviv's hostilities ended.
Despite the firm stance, Iranian authorities maintain they are not entirely closing the door on diplomacy.
Araghchi’s attendance at the Geneva meeting is seen as a signal that Tehran is still open to future talks under the right conditions.
Araghchi reaffirmed that the programme is non-negotiable, especially while Iran faces ongoing military aggression.
Israel attacks target residential and hospital buildings in iran
An Israeli drone targeted an apartment in a residential building located in Tehran’s central Gisha district on Friday, according to a report by Iranian news outlet Asriran.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks over the past week have damaged five hospitals across Iran, impacting the treatment of patients, according to Iran's emergency services chief, speaking to state television on Friday.
West pushes Iran talks as conflict fears grow
European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to meet his European Union counterparts to discuss the Israel-Iran conflict.
These developments come after President Donald Trump announced that any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met British Foreign Minister David Lammy on June 19 and held calls with his counterparts from Australia, France and Italy to discuss the conflict.
He held separate calls with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
The US State Department said that Rubio and the foreign ministers agreed that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon," as stated in a Reuters report.
"Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister.
Lammy said the same on X while adding that the situation in the Middle East "remained perilous" and a "window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution."
The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. Meeting with @SecRubio and @SteveWitkoff in the White House today, we discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two… pic.twitter.com/UKAOsnDAm8
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 19, 2025According to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to meet counterparts from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Geneva for talks on ending the war and on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, claiming it aims to prevent its "longtime enemy" from developing nuclear weapons. However, Iran continues to deny such claims, saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, as informed by Reuters.
In reaction to the Israeli assault, Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel, which resulted in the death of at least 25 people, with hundreds injured since.
Israeli authorities claim two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks.
Those killed in Iran not only include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists but also civilian casualties, with up to 639 people killed in Iran, as reported by the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side.
Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.
Trump weighs war entry in 'two weeks'
US President Donald Trump has said he will decide whether to join Israel's attack on Iran within the next two weeks, as there is still a "substantial" chance of negotiations to end the conflict.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a message from Trump on Thursday, saying there had been "a lot of speculation" about whether the United States would be "directly involved" in the conflict.
"Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran soon, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said in the statement.
“Trump will make his decision on whether to strike Iran within two weeks”
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) June 19, 2025
We are not a serious country.
pic.twitter.com/Fbwgj01HWJThe announcement could lower the temperature and give space for diplomacy, after a fevered few days in which Trump said Iran's leader was an "easy target" and vowed that Tehran could never have a nuclear weapon.
But Leavitt also told reporters that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the space of a "couple of weeks." "Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon," she said.
Trump had spent weeks pursuing a diplomatic path towards a deal to replace the nuclear deal with Iran that he tore up in his first term in 2018.
But he has since backed Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities and military top brass, while mulling whether to join in.
A key issue is that the United States is the only country with the huge "bunker buster" bombs that could destroy Iran's crucial Fordo Iranian nuclear enrichment plant.
The White House, meanwhile, urged Trump supporters to "trust" the president as he decides whether to act.
Several key figures in his "Make America Great Again" movement, including commentator Tucker Carlson and former aide Steve Bannon, have vocally opposed the US attack on Iran.
Trump's promise to extract the United States from its "forever wars" in the Middle East played a role in his 2016 and 2024 election wins. "Trust in President Trump. President Trump has incredible instincts," Leavitt said.
The White House said late on Thursday that Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday morning.
Iranian missiles hit Israel's Beersheva city, Microsoft
Sirens sounded in Beersheva and nearby Israeli towns amid an Iranian ballistic missile barrage that caused damage but no immediate reports of injuries, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
Furthermore, reports showed smoke near a Microsoft office in Beersheva as emergency services responded, CNN reports.
According to Magen David Adom, several fires broke out near a tech park housing a Microsoft office just hours after the interception.
Israel Police confirmed that munitions fragments landed in open areas of the Southern District, causing property damage but no casualties.
Notably, the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva was also struck during Iran’s earlier attack, adding to the mounting tension in the region.
Beer Sheva lies within the Negev desert, near Israel’s key Nevatim airbase.
The city hosts Israel’s Nevatim Airbase in the Negev desert, which is home to Israel's elite military intelligence Unit 8200, including Cyber Defence Directorates, marking another flashpoint amid the intensifying conflict.
Furthermore, Israel Police stated munitions fragments had fallen in open areas of the Southern District, causing property damage but no casualties, as Iran's attack also damaged the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva.
“Trump will make his decision on whether to strike Iran within two weeks”
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) June 19, 2025
We are not a serious country.
pic.twitter.com/Fbwgj01HWJFirefighters are working to extinguish fires at the heavily damaged impact site, local media said.
Hostilities broke out last Friday when Israel launched an attack on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Netanyahu calls for 'regime change'
These events come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 19 that the change or fall of Iran's leadership was not a goal of Israel's attacks, but could be a result.
"The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this regime is, first and foremost, a matter for the Iranian people. There is no substitute for this.
"And that's why I didn't present it as a goal. It could be a result, but it's not a stated or formal goal that we have," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel's Kan public television.
He said Israel had the power to remove all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, whether US President Donald Trump decides to join in or not.
While Netanyahu's statement does call for regime change and inadvertently the end of Khamenei, Russia's reaction highlights the rejection of such a prospect.
Regime change in Iran is “completely unacceptable,” and any attempt to assassinate Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei would “open Pandora’s box,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News. He warned Russia would react “very negatively” to such threats, describing them as “unimaginable” and fraught with grave consequences
Netanyahu spoke before the White House and said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved.
Asked whether Fordow could be addressed with or without the Americans, Netanyahu said: "We have the power to remove all our targets, all their nuclear facilities, but the president's decision whether he wants to join or not is again his decision.
"He will do what is good for the United States and I will do what is good for the State of Israel and I must say that up to this moment, everyone is doing their part," Netanyahu said.
On June 18, Trump said the United States alone could destroy or dismantle Fordow. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it at all," Trump said.
"Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites.
Israel claims Iran, on June 19, is "deliberately targeting civilians" through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area.
Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel, which is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it struck Iran to prevent Tehran from developing its nuclear weapons.
Israel initiated "Operation Rising Lion" on June 13, 2025, targeting Iranian military and nuclear facilities, resulting in the deaths of dozens, including top commanders and scientists.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, has retaliated with its attacks on Israel.
In retaliation for the Israeli attack, it launched over 500 drones and missiles at Israeli targets
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to continue striking Iranian regime targets, while Iranian President Pezeshkian warned of a severe response to further attacks.
The air war between Iran and Israel, which began on June 13 when Israel attacked Iran, has raised alarms in a region that was already on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023.