KANANASKIS, ALBERTA - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump walks retired to speech to reporters astatine the G7 Leaders' Summit connected June 16, 2025 successful Kananaskis, Alberta.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Top U.K., France and Germany diplomats are pushing for 11th-hour diplomacy with Iran successful Geneva connected Friday, arsenic Washington weighs the anticipation of joining Israel's subject run against Tehran implicit the adjacent 2 weeks.
Iran and Israel person been trading occurrence for the past week, successful the latest climax of tensions that person been simmering since Tehran-backed Hamas' violent onslaught against the Jewish authorities successful October 2023. Israel has since been warring a warfare connected aggregate fronts against the Palestinian militant radical and different Iranian proxies, specified arsenic Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi — which Tehran says are acting independently.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said Friday that his state would "not stop" its attacks, "until Iran's atomic menace is dismantled," Reuters reports.
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The struggle has risked further escalation since the commencement of the week, amid signals that the U.S. — historically a adjacent state and weapons supplier of Israel — could intervene militarily against Tehran.
"Based connected the information that there's a important accidental of negotiations that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not instrumentality spot with Iran successful the future, I volition marque my determination whether oregon not to spell wrong the adjacent 2 weeks," U.S. President Donald Trump said, according to a connection work retired connected Thursday by White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
Following a Thursday gathering with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and peculiar envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy said that the 3 "discussed however a woody could debar a deepening conflict" and that "a model present exists wrong the adjacent 2 weeks to execute a diplomatic solution."
"There is nary country for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is expected to be talks successful Geneva, was quoted arsenic saying connected Iranian authorities TV connected Friday, according to Reuters.
Trump's aversion to Iran's atomic programme has been a cardinal constituent of his statesmanship crossed some mandates. The White House person pulled the U.S. retired of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, oregon JCPOA, during his archetypal presidency, tightening the noose connected Iran's coffers done a drawstring of stringent fiscal and oil-linked sanctions.
Self-proclaimed "peacemaker" Trump has truthful acold fruitlessly pursued a 2nd atomic programme woody since the commencement of his 2nd term, initially expressing a penchant for a diplomatic breakthrough — the likes of which European officials are present hoping to strike.
"In the United States, [there are] galore governmental officials who are convinced that we indispensable not erstwhile much marque the errors of the past. What we saw successful Libya, what we saw successful Afghanistan, what we saw successful Iraq, we bash not privation to spot reproduced," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said successful a TV interrogation with French media, according to a CNBC translation.
Notably, the U.K., France and Germany — alongside Iran's allies Russia and China — were antecedently progressive successful the JCPOA with Washington and Tehran.
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, airs for photographs successful the offices of the honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany successful Geneva, Switzerland June 20, 2025, during a gathering of European Foreign Ministers, arsenic European countries telephone for de-escalation of tensions aft Israeli bombings aimed astatine breaking the Iranian atomic programme.
Fabrice Coffrini | Reuters
Markets person been rattled by the anticipation of the struggle destabilizing the wider oil-rich Middle East and perchance drafting successful the world's largest economy, spurring investors connected a formation to safe-haven assets and broader absorption connected defence companies and initiatives.
In a further motion of the escalating tensions — some successful Israel and Iran, and successful the ongoing warfare betwixt Russia and Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled interest Friday astir the anticipation of the satellite heading toward World War III.
"It is disturbing," Putin said, erstwhile asked astir if helium is acrophobic astir the possibility, per Reuters.
"I americium speaking without immoderate irony, without immoderate jokes. Of course, determination is simply a batch of struggle potential, it is growing, and it is close nether our noses, and it affects america directly," helium said astatine an economical forum successful St. Petersburg, Russia.
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