German FM urges Tehran to show seriousness in diplomacy

An Israeli rocket struck a hospital in Tehran early Friday, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry said, according to state media.

The official did not name the hospital.

The spokesperson said it was the third hospital targeted since the start of the conflict and added that six ambulances and a primary healthcare center had also been hit.

Israeli media reported Friday that initial assessments suggest a nuclear scientist was killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran.

According to Iran’s Shargh daily, informed sources said the target of the explosion in Tehran’s Gisha district Friday noon was indeed a nuclear scientist.

Israel hit a residential building in the Gisha district, damaging several buildings.

Iran is willing to pursue a balanced and pragmatic policy in its dealings with Europe, and engage rationally with both East and West, Reuters reported.

"Meanwhile, Iran can prove to be a chess piece for Europe to ease the dual pressure between East and West," the report cited an unnamed Iranian diplomat as saying in Berlin on Friday.

"Despite American displeasure, Iran has shown that it is willing to pursue a wise, balanced and pragmatic policy in its dealings with Europe."

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the agency’s recent report on Iran’s nuclear program contained no new findings and should not be used to justify military action.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency had long noted Iran’s lack of cooperation on clarifying aspects of its nuclear activity, but stressed the report “could hardly be a basis for any military action,” in an interview with CNN.

“Military action, from whomever it comes, is a political decision that has nothing to do with what we are saying,” Grossi said. He added that the IAEA currently has no indication Iran is operating a systematic program to produce a nuclear weapon.

CNN, which aired the interview, said the IAEA’s report had been cited in part by Israeli officials for their military strikes on Iran.

Earlier this month, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution declaring Iran in non-compliance with its safeguards obligations for the first time in nearly two decades.

In its board-mandated report published in May, the agency concluded that three of four sites under investigation had been part of a previously undeclared, structured nuclear program Iran conducted until the early 2000s, and that some of the work involved undeclared nuclear material.

"Our fight in Iran may last a long time," Israeli military spokesman Avi Deveren said Friday, as the war with Iran entered its second week.

Deveren added that Israeli forces are operating in Iranian airspace and underground, and that strikes on nuclear sites are ongoing and set to expand.

He said destroying Iran’s missile platforms is central to achieving Israel’s war objectives.