Israel warns of ‘prolonged campaign’ against Iran as Europeans push for truce

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Israel’s military chief has warned of a “prolonged campaign” against Iran, even as European foreign ministers met their Iranian counterpart in an effort to end the war and convince the Trump administration to stay out of the conflict.

Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir told Israeli soldiers on Friday that “the campaign is not over” despite strikes that have targeted Iran’s nuclear sites, hit Iran’s missile launch capabilities and killed many of its military commanders.

“We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude, against such an enemy, we must be ready for a prolonged campaign,” Zamir said.

As he spoke, the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany were in talks in Geneva with Iran’s foreign minister to press for a deal to resolve the decades-long stand-off between Tehran and the west over Tehran’s expansive nuclear programme.

Israel justified its attack on Iran as necessary to prevent the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon. Tehran has maintained that its uranium enrichment is part of a peaceful energy programme.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the European countries had prepared a “comprehensive negotiation offer” in the first direct engagement between western officials and the Islamic Republic since Israel launched a large-scale air assault against its arch foe a week ago.

The negotiations came a day after the White House said President Donald Trump would decide “within the next two weeks” whether Washington would enter the war.

In a sign of the challenges the diplomatic push faces, Macron said the negotiations had to move towards zero uranium enrichment, which Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted is an unacceptable red line.

The French president said the discussion would also include limiting Iran’s missile activity and financing of terrorist groups.

The stance means the European position is now closer than before to Trump, who has called for the complete dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said before the talks that Tehran would not negotiate with Washington under fire. “Our legitimate defence will continue unabated, and we have nothing to discuss with the United States, which is complicit in these crimes,” he said.

However, he said Iran was “open to hearing” the Europeans’ “views and engaging in discussions.

France, Germany and the UK are signatories to the 2015 nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers, which Trump abandoned in his first presidential term.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always opposed such diplomatic efforts, has vowed to continue the attack on Iran as long as necessary to destroy Tehran’s nuclear programme and missile capability.

Tehran had previously been holding indirect talks with the US, but the start of the war last week upended those diplomatic efforts, 48 hours before a sixth round of negotiations were to be held.

Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire on Friday, with Israeli strikes hitting western Tehran. Iran fired 20 missiles at Israel that targeted the northern port city of Haifa and central parts of the nation, according to the Israeli authorities, but there were no reports of deaths.

The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog warned on Friday that Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear sites had caused a “sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security in Iran”.

Rafael Grossidirector-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said although the strikes had “not so far led to a radiological release affecting the public, there is a danger this could occur”.

He told the UN Security Council that “armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place, and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked”.

Israel has targeted Natanz, one of the two Iranian sites at the centre of the nuclear dispute, causing damage to its underground facilities.

But Grossi said the level of radioactivity outside Natanz, which is in central Iran, had “remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact on the population or the environment”.

He said the IAEA was not aware of any damage at Iran’s Fordow site, which is buried deep beneath a mountain and where the country is enriching uranium close to weapons grade.

Analysts say that it is unlikely that Israel would have the military capability to destroy Fordow without the US’s intervention.