Related Articles
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that Israel must strike at "all regime symbols" and its "mechanisms of oppression" and aims to destabilize the Iranian government.
He added that he has instructed the military to escalate attacks on such targets in Tehran as the conflict between the two countries deepens.
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."
Tehran’s Friday prayer leader ruled out any negotiations with Iran’s adversaries, saying, “No one is negotiating, no one dares to, and no one is allowed to.”
Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari’s comments came in response to chants from participants saying,“Anyone who negotiates is a traitor,” signaling strong public and clerical opposition to talks amid heightened tensions.
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.
