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Iranian nuclear facilities may have largely survived attack, initial report says.
UN chief welcomes Trump's announcement of Israel-Iran ceasefire and urges Israel and Iran to fully respect the ceasefire and to stop fighting.
WASHINGTON/TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were "outrageous" and "will have everlasting consequences."
Tehran "reserves all options" to retaliate, said the minister.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has detected the launch of missiles from Iran after US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," the IDF said on Telegram.
The Israeli army added that an air raid alert has been declared in some regions of Israel and ordered residents to take shelter in protected areas.
The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement earlier that Israel has closed its airspace after the US attack on Iran's nuclear sites, although land crossings with Egypt and Jordan are operating normally.
"Israel's airspace is closed to entry and exit. The public should stay updated with the airlines. Land crossings to Sinai and Jordan are operating as usual," the statement said.
The Iranian state media reported that there were "no signs of contamination" at the nuclear sites at Esfahan, Fordo and Natanz after US airstrikes, quoting a statement from the country's National Nuclear Safety System Center.
"There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites," the statement said.
US President Donald Trump said earlier on Saturday that the United States has completed attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, including "Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan."
"All planes are now outside of Iran's airspace. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," he said on the social platform Truth Social.
Tehran must agree to "end this war," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the strikes.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged attacks on the country's nuclear facilities.
Iran had evacuated these three nuclear sites "a while ago," said Hassan Abedini, deputy political director of Iran's state broadcaster, adding that Iran "didn't suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out."
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the US attacks, but said its work will not be stopped.
"The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped," the agency said in a statement issued after Trump announced the US attacks.
The organization also confirmed that Iran's nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were attacked again early Sunday, following Trump's remarks that the US military had struck three nuclear targets.
"Necessary measures, including legal procedures, are on the agenda to defend the country's rights," said the organization.
It condemned the attacks as a violation of international law, particularly the Non-Proliferation Treaty, calling on the international community to denounce the strikes and support Iran's pursuit of its legal rights.
The Saudi Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission has confirmed that no radioactive traces have been detected in the environment of the country or other Arab Gulf states following the US military strikes.
In a post on its official X account, the Saudi nuclear body said that continuous monitoring has shown no signs of radiological impact on the region's environment.
In its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the United States used the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, known as the "bunker buster," local media quoted two sources familiar with the operation.
B-2 bombers are the only aircraft capable of carrying the bombs, said the report.
Trump and his team were in touch with top congressional Republicans before the strikes, but did not brief top Democrats on his plans until after the bombs had been dropped, the report added.
The attacks marked a historic escalation in the Middle East. It may provoke retaliation from Tehran against US troops and military installations across the region, said the report.
A senior official from Yemen's Houthi group said in a social media post early Sunday that it would hold Trump responsible for the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"Trump must bear the consequences," Houthi political bureau member Hizam al-Assad posted on X.
Prior to the US attacks, the Houthi group said in a statement that it would target US ships if Washington attacks Iran.
"If America is involved in the attack and aggression against Iran ... the armed forces (Houthi forces) will target its ships and battleships in the Red Sea," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in the statement, aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on Sunday after the US attacks, calling it a "bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities."
Trump had created a "pivot of history," he added.
The US air raids on Iran came on the ninth day after Israel launched attacks on Iran on June 13.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran will face more military strikes if peace does not come quickly.
Addressing the nation Saturday evening, Trump said that Iran's key nuclear facilities had been "completely and totally obliterated," and that future attacks will be "far greater and a lot easier."
"If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes," he said.
Trump said that he decided a long time ago not to let Iran gain a nuclear weapon and that without peace, there will be "tragedy" for Iran that will far exceed what's taken place.
"War starts right now," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said after Trump's announcement of US successful attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities of "Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan."
Iran had evacuated these three nuclear sites "a while ago," said Hassan Abedini, deputy political director of Iran's state broadcaster.
Appearing on state-run television, he said that Iran "didn't suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out."
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the US attacks, but said that its work will not be stopped.
"The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped," the agency said in a statement issued after Trump's announcement of the US attacks.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday that US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites are "a dangerous escalation" and "a direct threat to international peace and security."
"I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge -- and a direct threat to international peace and security," said Guterres in a statement.
There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control -- with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region and the world, he said.
Guterres called on UN member states to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.
"At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace," he said.
WASHINGTON - US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a "very successful attack," President Donald Trump said on Saturday, adding that Tehran's nuclear program had been obliterated.
After days of deliberation and long before his self-imposed two-week deadline, Trump's decision to join Israel's military campaign against its major rival Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.
"The strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said in a televised Oval Office address. "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."
In a speech that lasted just over three minutes, Trump said Iran's future held "either peace or tragedy," and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military.
"If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill."
The US reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes are all the US plans and it does not aim for regime change, CBS News reported.
Trump said US forces struck Iran's three principal nuclear sites: Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow. He told Fox News six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on Fordow, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against other nuclear sites.
US B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," Trump posted. "Fordow is gone."
"IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR," he added.
Reuters
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has condemned the attacks of the United States on Iran's nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which it said, contradicts international law, especially the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), according to its statement.
"This action, contrary to international law, was unfortunately carried out in the shadow of indifference and even with the cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency," the statement said.
The US, through its president, has taken responsibility for the attack on the aforementioned sites, which are under the continuous supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, based on the Safeguards Agreement and the NPT Treaty, the AEOI added, according to Mehr News Agency.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi warned of the risk of nuclear contamination from Israel's attacks on nuclear facilities in Iran on Friday in his briefing at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Talking of serious damage at the Natanz site in Israeli air strikes, Grossi was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency as saying: "The main concern inside the facility is chemical toxicity."
Grossi also warned of the serious consequences of an attack on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is an operating nuclear power plant and hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material, and the Tehran Nuclear Research Reactor.
In a post on X, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he is "gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today".
"This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge — and a direct threat to international peace and security," said Guterres.
He also called on all UN Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law.
"At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos," said the UN secretary-general.
Analysts have been concerned that potential contamination from the attacked atomic energy sites might be disastrous for the whole region.
Jan Yumul contributed to this report.
UNITED NATIONS -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday branded the US strikes on Iran as a "dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge — and a direct threat to international peace and security."
"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world," Guterres said in a statement.
"At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace," he said.
Reuters
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iran must now make peace or "we will go after" other targets in Iran after US strikes that he said "obliterated" Iranian nuclear sites.
"There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," Trump said in a nationally televised speech at the White House.
Reuters
The United States is entering Israeli attacks on Iran "to its own detriment," Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeated an earlier warning to the United States early Sunday after the US bombed key Iranian nuclear sites. At least parts of the cites, especially at the key site of Fordow, were struck, but detailed information on specific damage to the sites was to be confirmed.
Khamenei's Telegram account has re-shared his televised comments on Wednesday, in which he said that the US would be entering the Iran-Israel conflict "to its own detriment,""The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm Iran will encounter," Khamenei says in the video.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran condemned the US strikes in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks the US president after the US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, according to the Jerusalem Post. Six bunker-buster bombs were used during the strike on Fordow, with 30 tomahawk missiles being used on the additional nuclear sites, according to Fox News.
However, the Israeli Defense Forces' Home Front Command has raised the threat level nationwide, ordering only essential activity to take place.
An Iranian official in Qom confirmed part of the Fordow nuclear site has come under attack.
Morteza Heydari, a spokesman for Qom Provincial Crisis Management Headquarters, was quoted by Iran's Tasnim news agency as saying: "Hours ago, after Qom's air defenses were activated and hostile targets were identified, part of the Fordow nuclear site was attacked by enemy airstrikes."
The IRNA news agency quotes an official with the country's public broadcaster as saying: "There are no materials in these three nuclear sites that cause radiation."
The comment suggests that Iranian authorities may have removed enriched uranium from the facilities before they were bombed, the report said.
The three nuclear facilities have been evacuated, Iranian national television confirmed.
Iran had been expecting attacks on Fordow for several nights, the facility had been evacuated before the airstrikes occurred, and did not suffer irreversible damage, according to an advisor to Iran's Parliament Speaker.
"Two things are certain: 1. Knowledge cannot be bombed. 2. This time, the gambler will definitely lose," the advisor was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as saying.
On Saturday in Istanbul, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi cautioned the US against the dangerous consequences of getting involved in the Israeli regime's war of aggression.
Araqchi told reporters that it would be "very, very dangerous for everyone" if the United States becomes actively involved in the war along with Israel. He attended diplomatic talks with Europeans in Geneva earlier.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan, citing an anonymous Israeli official, said that Israel was "in full coordination with the US" during its attacks on Iran. B-2 stealth bombers are the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, commonly nicknamed The Mother of All Bombs.
BAGHDAD -- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for Iraqi Shiite militias, confirmed on Saturday the death of a senior security leader in an Israeli strike on a border area with Iran.
Haider al-Moussawi, head of the security unit of the militias Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, was killed in the attack, the pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement.
Abu Ali al-Khalil, an aide to the killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and his son were also killed in the attack, the statement added.
The deaths were caused by an Israeli attack on the border area between Iraq and Iran, the statement said without giving more details.
The United States has launched strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, drawing the US military directly into the conflict after days of uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump would intervene.
"Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat ...There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight," Trump said in a four-minute national address at the White House Saturday night, adding that Iran's nuclear sites are "totally obliterated".
He also warned of possible retaliation from Tehran.
"If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill," he said.
Trump said the strikes targeted Iran's main enrichment sites at Fordo and Natanz, which were hit days earlier by Israel, and a third site near Isfahan, believed to store near-weapons-grade uranium recently inspected by international monitors.
Iranian officials confirmed the attacks and said on state television that Iran had evacuated three nuclear sites that were struck some time ago. They said there were no materials at the sites that could cause radiation.
Iranian state television responded to Trump, saying, "You started it, and we will end it,' and warned that "every American citizen or military personnel in the region is now a target."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has not commented since the attack, but earlier on Saturday, he said, "If the United States enters the war, the situation will become very, very dangerous".
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities would "change history".
"President Trump and I often say: 'Peace through strength.' First comes strength, and then comes peace. And tonight, President Trump and the United States acted with a lot of strength," Netanyahu said.
Earlier Saturday, multiple American B-2 bombers were flying west over the Pacific Ocean and they were used in the strike. These bombers are capable of carrying 30,000-pound 'bunker-buster' bombs designed to penetrate fortified underground facilities.
Trump, who has pledged to avoid "forever wars" during his campaign and in past speeches, said on Thursday he would decide whether to strike Iran "within the next two weeks". After days of uncertainty and conflicting signals, US forces have now been drawn directly into the conflict.
"The thinking in Trump's mind right now is that he could get a quick 'win' with a minimum of military effort and then get to brag about it," Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, told China Daily. He previously warned that attacks would affect the US' relations with Iran, the Islamic world, Russia, China and the Middle East.
Gupta added that strikes would "almost certainly exacerbate regional instability and roil oil and gas markets", impacting the global economy.
Jack Midgley, an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, told China Daily that the US strikes serve no clear strategic purpose.
"There is no US strategic objective advanced by military action against Iran as it could strengthen Iran's regional position," he said.
He added that Iran's retaliation would cost the US.
"Iran should be expected to take aggressive measures to defend itself," including attacks on US bases in Qatar or Bahrain, cyber-attacks, or closing the Strait of Hormuz, which could disrupt global oil flows, he said.
US lawmakers are divided over the strikes and the country's entry into the Middle East conflict. Even within the Republican Party, some have praised the decision, while others worry the aggressive action could cost the party support from MAGA voters.
Contact the writer at mingmeili@chinadailyusa.com.
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States has completed attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, including "Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan."
"All planes are now outside of Iran airspace. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow," he said on the social platform Truth Social.
TEHRAN -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Iran will not agree to reduce its nuclear activities to zero, according to a statement published on the website of his office.
"We are ready to cooperate and build trust over our peaceful nuclear activities," he told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call. "But we will not accept reducing nuclear activities to zero in any way," he said.
Pezeshkian emphasized that his government has sought cooperation with all nations based on mutual respect. However, he blamed Israel for undermining these efforts, citing the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, shortly after he took office.
He accused Israel of persistently violating international law through military actions, including recent strikes on Iran. He stressed that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons and remains open to providing guarantees about the peaceful intent of its nuclear program.
The French president, for his part, said his country had not participated in Israel's military attack against Iran and did not support it, emphasizing that France condemned any attack on non-military and non-nuclear centers.
Macron added that his country had focused all its efforts on stopping the military conflict and de-escalating tensions, noting that France respected countries' integrity and sovereignty and maintained that influencing states' sovereignty through pressure and threats was not a proper solution.
The conversation came amid ongoing hostilities. On June 13, Israel launched major airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing several senior commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks. As of Saturday, more than 400 Iranians have been killed and over 3,000 wounded, according to Iran's Health Ministry. In Israel, 24 civilians were killed by Iranian missile strikes, according to local authorities.
JERUSALEM -- The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it had completed a series of airstrikes in southwestern Iran on Saturday.
The statement said that approximately 30 Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck dozens of military targets, with over 50 munitions, in the area of Ahvaz.
As part of the strikes, jets struck a site where missile launchers were stored, some of which had launched missiles in the past toward Israel, according to the statement.
Israeli jets also struck radar sites used for detection and aerial intelligence gathering, and military infrastructure, the statement added.
TEHRAN -- Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development announced on Saturday the suspension of flights to and from the country will be extended until 14:00 Sunday local time (1030 GMT), the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The restrictions on Iran's airspace would remain in place, to ensure the safety of passengers and flights, unless the country's conditions return to normal, Tasnim quoted the ministry's spokesman Majid Akhavan as saying.
Iran announced the closure of its airspace after Israel on June 13 launched airstrikes on the Iranian capital Tehran and other areas across the country.
Several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists were killed in the Israeli strikes. In retaliation, Iran has carried out missile and drone attacks on various locations in Israel, causing casualties and substantial damage. The conflict has continued into Saturday.
TEHRAN -- Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Saturday that the country has not yet resorted to its strategic reserves amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Mohajerani made the remarks in a live interview with state-run IRIB TV while stressing that Iran was facing no difficulty in supplying essential products.
She noted that over the past 24 hours, 74,000 tons of essential goods had been imported, and the country was continuing the export of its surplus agricultural crops.
Mohajerani said given the rise in travels to certain provinces, services were being provided in three shifts and supervision had been tightened on to ensure the quality of products.
She added that the trade unions' activities in the capital Tehran had returned to normal, and an increase in traffic at the city' points of entry and exit was being witnessed.
Mohajerani said the suspension of flights to and from the country was still in place to ensure the safety of passengers and flights, emphasizing that given the existing "threats," only national internet was accessible.
She added that since the start of Israel's attacks on Iran, 54 Iranian women and children were killed and 94 others were wounded, and several hospitals across the country were attacked.
Six ambulances were also targeted by Israel and three rescuers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society were killed, Mohajerani said.
Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on June 13, killing several senior military commanders, nuclear scientists. Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Iranian Health Ministry's public relations, said on Saturday that Israeli attacks over the past nine days have killed over 400 Iranians and left 3,056 others wounded.
JERUSALEM - The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in statements on Saturday that it had killed three senior commanders in Iran overnight.
One of them was Saeed Izadi, the commander of the Palestine Corps in the Quds Force, a branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the IDF.
Izadi, a key coordinator between the Iran and Hamas, was killed in an air strike in Iran's Qom province, the IDF said.
"Izadi was responsible for increasing the financial funding from Iran to Hamas for activities against Israel," the statement read. "He was also a main orchestrator of the October 7th massacre and one of the few people who knew about it in advance."
The IDF said in a separate statement that its air force also killed Behnam Shahriyari, commander of the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit in the IRGC, in western Iran.
The statement said that Shahriyari was responsible for "weapons transfers from Iran to its proxies" across the Middle East.
"Shahriyari commanded the transfer of hundreds of millions of US dollars annually to various terrorist organizations, utilizing a network of shell companies, money changers, and couriers," the statement read.
Earlier on Saturday, the IDF said that its air force had struck and killed Aminpour Joudaki in southwestern Iran. Joudaki was the commander of the second unmanned aerial vehicle brigade of the IRGC Air Force.
The statement claimed that as part of his role, he had advanced hundreds of drone attacks against Israeli territory from the area of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets had struck missile storage and launch facilities in central Iran, according to a separate IDF statement on Saturday.
The strike was carried out shortly after a barrage of five missiles was fired from Iran towards central Israel, with no casualties reported.
There was no confirmation from the IRGC on the killing of the commanders.
ISTANBUL - Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Saturday in Istanbul that while diplomacy "can work in the future" as it has in the past, "aggression must stop" for talks to resume, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Araghchi made the remarks during his attendance at a foreign ministers' meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Turkiye. According to Anadolu, Araghchi affirmed Iran's "absolute" readiness for a negotiated solution to the nuclear issue, drawing parallels to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran signed the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Recalling the agreement, Araghchi said, "This was the result of two years of negotiations, and when we signed the agreement, the whole world celebrated it."
On a potential US intervention in its conflict with Israel, Araghchi said the US involvement would be "extremely dangerous" for everyone.
The ongoing Israeli-Iranian conflict started last week, when Israel launched a series of large-scale airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, killing several top commanders and nuclear scientists. In response, Iran retaliated overnight with missile and drone strikes on Israeli territory.
JERUSALEM - Ten drones were launched from Iran throughout Saturday morning into several areas in Israel, according to statements by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
One of the drones hit a two-story residential building in the northern Israeli city of Beit Shean, causing heavy damage but no casualties, Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) reported.
Another drone fell in an open area in the Negev desert in southern Israel, resulting in no casualties or damage. The remaining eight drones were intercepted by the Israeli air defense system, according to the IDF.
Earlier, on Saturday pre-dawn, five missiles were fired from Iran towards central Israel.
All the missiles were intercepted by the Israeli air force, with no casualties reported, the IDF said.
According to the MDA, an interception fragment fell and caused a fire in a residential building in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
GENEVA - Iranian and European officials held their first face-to-face talks on Friday since the recent escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict, stressing the importance of continued diplomatic engagement.
The meeting, held amongst Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany (E3), as well as the European Union's (EU) top diplomat, lasted about three and a half hours.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Araghchi reiterated that Iran's nuclear program is purely peaceful in nature and remains fully under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iran supports continued consultations with the E3 and the EU, and is prepared to make further efforts to promote peace in the near future, Araghchi added.
After the meeting, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that Britain remains committed to ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and urged Tehran to continue its dialogue with the United States.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot noted that France had invited Iran to consider re-engaging in talks with all relevant parties, including the United States. He added that France hopes to see the process move forward.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the participants departed the meeting with the understanding that Iran is, in principle, prepared to continue discussions on all key issues.
EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that the parties agreed to broaden the scope of talks beyond the nuclear issue and to maintain openness in their dialogue.
UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for diplomacy to prevent the Israeli-Iranian conflict from spiraling out of control.
In remarks to an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Guterres described the situation as a defining moment for humanity.
"There are moments when the choices before us are not just consequential, they are defining; moments when the direction taken will shape not only the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future. This is such a moment," he said.
The expansion of this conflict could ignite a fire that no one can control, he warned. "We must not let that happen."
The only thing that is predictable is that the consequences of continuing this conflict are unpredictable, he said. "Let us not look back on this decisive moment with regret. Let us act, responsibly and together, to pull the region, and our world, back from the brink."
The confrontation between Israel and Iran is escalating rapidly with a terrible toll -- killing and injuring civilians, devastating homes, neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, and attacking nuclear facilities, he noted. "The world is watching with growing alarm. We are not drifting toward crisis. We are racing toward it. We are not witnessing isolated incidents -- we are on course to potential chaos."
The central question of this conflict is the nuclear question. Non-proliferation is a must for the safety and security of the world. The Non-Proliferation Treaty is a cornerstone of international security. Iran must respect it. And Iran has repeatedly stated that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, said Guterres.
"Let's recognize there is a trust gap. The only way to bridge that gap is through diplomacy to establish a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution, including full access to inspectors of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), as the United Nations technical agency in this field," he said. "For all of that to be possible, I appeal for an end to the fighting and the return to serious negotiations."
Guterres urged the Security Council to act with unity and urgency for dialogue. He urged the international community to rally behind the sole path that can deliver lasting peace: diplomacy grounded in international law, including the UN Charter.
"To the parties to the conflict -- the potential parties to the conflict -- and to the Security Council as the representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: Give peace a chance," said Guterres.
NEW YORK -- US President Donald Trump said Friday it will be difficult to request Israel stop its airstrikes in Iran, even as he pursues a diplomatic solution to end the conflict.
Trump made the remarks to reporters in New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser at his golf course, local media reported.
Trump also dismissed European efforts to engage diplomatically with Iran. "They didn't help... Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one."
Earlier, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she "can't speculate" on whether the Trump administration will press for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to allow US-Iran nuclear talks to move forward.
"I'm not going to characterize what's happening now, or the reaction by the president or the secretary of state to what those negotiations might be," Bruce said at a news briefing Friday.
