Airstrikes, missile barrages and diplomatic manoeuvring unfolded in tandem across battlefields and boardrooms as the Israel-Iran war reached its second week on Friday.
While Israeli jets bombed multiple sites across western and northern Iran, Tehran returned fire with missiles that hit civilian infrastructure in southern Israel.
The escalating war has killed at least 657 people in Iran, including top generals and nuclear scientists, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Israel reports at least 24 civilian deaths and hundreds of injuries amid continuing drone and missile attacks from Iran.
On Friday, Iranian missiles struck near residential apartments and offices in Beersheba, causing considerable damage. Paramedics treated six people for minor injuries, while others were treated for shock.
Israel launched a fresh aerial offensive targeting missile production sites, suspected nuclear R&D facilities in Tehran, and the Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which the US has linked to nuclear weapons development.
Israel also struck around Kermanshah, Tabriz and the Caspian city of Rasht, where it had warned civilians to evacuate. Iran, which maintains a blackout of its internet and casualty figures, has so far not publicly confirmed losses from the latest strikes.
Trump weighing bunker-buster
US President Donald Trump said he would decide “within two weeks” whether to involve American forces directly, potentially by deploying the military’s “bunker-buster” bombs against Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, buried deep under a mountain.
The White House confirmed Trump had been in touch with regional allies and would participate in a national security briefing on Friday. His envoy Steve Witkoff has reportedly held multiple conversations with Araqchi in recent days.
The administration remains divided over military involvement, with Trump reportedly seeing a “substantial chance” for renewed negotiations.
With or without US support: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel will press ahead with its military operations against Iran without waiting for a green light from Washington. In an interview in Hebrew with public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu said Israel was fully prepared to strike all of Iran’s nuclear sites, including the heavily fortified Fordo facility.
“We will achieve all our objectives and hit all of their nuclear facilities. We have the capability to do that,” he said. “Whether US President Donald Trump wants to join or not — that’s entirely his decision.”
“I trust Trump to do what’s best for America,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while visiting the bombed-out Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, which was hit by an Iranian missile a day earlier, injuring at least 80 people.
Netanyahu hinted that the endgame may be bigger than a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme. Speaking on Thursday, he said, “The downfall of the regime... may be a result, but it’s up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom.”
Western and regional officials say Operation Rising Lion, launched by Israel on June 12, was aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and potentially destabilising Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime.
Iranian opposition groups abroad claimed the regime is vulnerable, but dissidents within the country say a public uprising is unlikely amid war.
“People are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets,” said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before fleeing Iran.
‘No talks under fire’
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi flew to Geneva for talks with European officials, but he ruled out negotiations with the US until Israeli “aggression” ceases. Speaking on Iranian state TV, Araqchi said: “They've sent messages several times — very serious ones — but as long as this aggression continues, there is absolutely no room for diplomacy.”
He reiterated that Iran’s missile programme was non-negotiable and strictly for defence. The Geneva talks, attended by Britain, France, Germany and the EU’s foreign policy chief, are aimed at reviving a diplomatic path to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran’s foreign ministry also accused Israel of waging not just a military campaign but a “war on truth and human conscience.”
In a statement on X Friday, it said foreign journalists had been banned from covering missile strikes inside Israel, citing IDF censorship, which it claimed was aimed at concealing civilian casualties.
“Iran precisely targets military sites,” the statement read, “while Israel deliberately massacres civilians—killing hundreds, including children, destroying hospitals, and leaving families in endless mourning.”
Tehran said it was organising global press tours to expose what it called Israeli war crimes, adding: “Never forget: Israel started this unprovoked aggression against a nation committed to peace.”
Western diplomats also admitted the chances of a breakthrough remained slim.
“Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one,” British foreign secretary David Lammy said ahead of the meeting.
Lammy also met US secretary of state Marco Rubio at the White House on Thursday, where both reaffirmed that “Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Russia and China called for de-escalation, condemning Israel’s strikes and urging a return to diplomacy.
Civilians and cluster bombs
Both Israel and Iran have been accused of hitting civilian areas, including hospitals and apartment blocks. Israel accused Iran on Thursday of using cluster munitions in civilian zones to maximise harm, calling it a war crime. Tehran has not responded to the allegation.
Nuclear experts have warned that while Israel’s strikes on enrichment sites have so far avoided major radiation risks, any future attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could lead to a regional catastrophe.