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Iran's foreign minister begin talks with European diplomats over war with Israel

Meanwhile, over 110 human rights organisations and trade unions demand the EU immediately suspend its trade agreement with Israel over its ‘egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians’

IRAN'S Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began talks with European diplomats today over its war with Israel, as human rights and trade union groups demanded the EU suspend trade deals with Israel over the Gaza genocide.

Mr Araghchi arrived in Geneva today for a meeting with his French, German, British and EU counterparts.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Araghchi said his country has “nothing to discuss” with the US as long as Israel continues attacking Iran, but is open to “dialogue” with others, though not negotiations.

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said that he’ll decide within two weeks whether the US military will get directly involved in the war given a “substantial chance” for renewed negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Negotiations with the US were already ongoing last Friday when Israel launched an unprovoked attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Israeli air strikes today hit what its military said were industrial sites manufacturing missiles. 

Israeli said it also hit the headquarters of Iran’s Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, which the US has said in the past is linked to nuclear explosive devices.

Israeli missiles also fell on areas around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran, as well as on Rasht, an industrial city on the Caspian Sea. 

The Israeli military said it had warned the public to flee, but due to Iran’s internet blackout it’s unclear how many people would have seen the message.

In Israel, more than 20 people were injured by Iranian missiles that fell on Beersheva in the south and Haifa in the north.

Elsewhere, a joint statement by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam Ireland, France’s CGT union, Spain’s UGT union and 105 others said that the European Commission and all EU member states must suspend its trade deal with Israel over its “egregious human rights abuses against Palestinians.”

The statement said: “As parties to the Genocide Convention, all EU member states have the obligation to ‘employ all means reasonably available to them’ to prevent a genocide.

“That obligation arises not when a definitive judicial determination is made, but as soon as a state learns, or should normally have learned, of a serious risk that genocide may be committed.

“The International Court of Justice provided clear guidance in that regard. EU action is long overdue.”

The UN’s children's agency (Unicef) also warned of a man-made drought in Gaza.

Unicef spokesman Hames Elder told reporters in Geneva that "children will begin to die of thirst ... Just 40 per cent of drinking water production facilities remain functional,” he said.

“We are way below emergency standards in terms of drinking water.”

The agency also said there was a 50 per cent increase in number of children aged six months to five years being treated for malnutrition from April to May in Gaza, and half a million people are going hungry.

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