Live: Iran holds funeral for top military, nuclear figures killed in Israeli strikes

The Israeli military said on Friday that it has used 15 fighter jets and more than 30 weapons in the latest wave of strikes against Iran

It said the attacks targeted “missile launch sites”.

Earlier, it said that it intercepted 15 Iranian drones.  

Israel’s attacks on Iran have killed hundreds of civilians over the past week.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that “Israel’s doing well in terms of war, and I think you would say that Iran is doing less well”.

He added that he “might” support a ceasefire deal.

And when answering a question of a reporter who asked him to comment on Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence’s claim that there is no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, Trump said, “Well, then my intelligence community is wrong”.

Trump also said that “Europe is not going to be able to help” in the Israel-Iran conflict when asked another question by a journalist.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Friday that his country should be “ready for a prolonged campaign” against Iran.

“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 in a video statement.

He added: “The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days still lie ahead.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that his country is ready to start negotiations if Israel stops its attacks.

“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again - once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,” Araghchi told reporters in Geneva.

He said that “Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful and has always been under the IAEA safeguards and monitoring. Hence, armed attacks against safeguarded nuclear facilities by a regime which is not a party to any WMD treaties is a serious crime and violation of international law.”

The Iranian minister expressed “grave concern” about the failure of the E3 countries - Germany, UK and France - and the European Union to condemn the attacks.

“In this regard, I made it crystal clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are not negotiable.”

He added: “We support the continuation of discussion with the E3 and EU, and expressed our readiness to meet again in the near future.”

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Araghchi has signalled “his willingness to continue these discussions on the nuclear programme and, more broadly, on all issues”.

“We expect Iran to be open to discussions, including with the United States, to reach a negotiated settlement through dialogue to this crisis situation, which poses considerable risks for the Middle East region as well as Europe,” he said.

Abbas al-Fatlawi, the Iraqi representative to the United Nations, said on Friday that his country’s airspace had been breached ahead of the UN Security Council meeting held earlier today.

The aircraft flew from the Syrian-Jordanian border areas, according to Fatlawi.

“Twenty aeroplanes started, followed by 30 aeroplanes heading to the south of Iraq, and they flew over Basra, Najaf and Karbala cities,” he said.

“These violations are violations of international law and the UN Charter,” he added.

The Iraqi diplomat said the violation of his country’s airspace constitutes a “threat to the sacred sites and regions”.

The Israeli envoy to the UN Danny Danon accused on Friday his Iranian counterpart of “playing victim” after he had earlier called upon the UN Security Council to stop the Israeli attacks on Iran.

“Mr Iravani, you are not a victim. You are not even a diplomat. You are a wolf pretending to be a diplomat and we are done pretending otherwise,” the Israeli ambassador said.

Danon condemned Iran for  launching a missile few days ago that targeted Soroka hospital, located in Beersheba in southern Israel.

Iran said it was targeting a nearby military site in that attack.

Earlier, Iran’s IRNA news agency said the Iranian delegation to the talks emphasised “that only a halt to aggression can open the path to diplomacy”.

“The first round of talks was held with a respectful and serious approach, encompassing the perspectives of all parties involved,” IRNA’s report said.

IRNA added that the Iranian delegation “stressed that Iran has not walked away from the negotiating table, and this round of talks does not mark the end of dialogue”.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that it has fired its 17th wave of missiles at Israeli military facilities.

It said in a statement that the “precise hits on Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba demonstrate that our offensive missile power is growing”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the ongoing Israeli conflict with Iran and the war on Gaza are “quickly reaching the point of no return”.

“This madness must end as soon as possible,” said Erdogan, during a speech to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Youth Forum.

He warned that the repercussions of both conflicts will leave its traces in the Middle East, Europe and Asia “for many years”.

“Israel complained about damage to its hospitals today, yet it has so far carried out over 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza alone,” he said, reiterating his call for a ceasefire.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi warned on Friday that an attack on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could have “serious” consequences, as it contains large amounts of nuclear material.

“I want to make it absolutely and completely clear that, in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,” Grossi said at a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.

In addition, he said that hitting the two lines supplying electrical power to Bushehr would also lead to the release of radioactivity to the environment, as it would cause its reactor core to melt out.

The radioactive releases can go “within and beyond the boundaries of the state which has been attacked,” he said.

“I, therefore, again call for maximum restraint.”

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres has called upon all parties involved in the Israeli-Iranian tensions to “give peace a chance,” warning that the extension of this conflict could start an uncontrollable fire.

When a missile landed close to his home in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on Thursday, Omri was miles away, sheltering at his partner's family house in northern Israel. 

"Our building is old and has no shelter so we drove to her parents' house, where there's a safe room, but it's frightening every time we leave the house," Omri told Middle East Eye.

The city of Ramat Gan and other areas near Tel Aviv have been the site of multiple Iranian retaliatory attacks since Israel started its military campaign on Iran a week ago. 

On Thursday, Iran launched a barrage of 30 ballistic missiles at Israel, causing extensive damage in the country's centre and south, where a missile struck the Soroka hospital in Beersheba. In Ramat Gan, damage was reported at the Israeli stock exchange building and several nearby offices and residential buildings. More than 200 people were wounded that day, according to local media. 

Read more: Fear and shock as Israelis question motives behind attack on Iran

A Palestinian nurse living in northern Israel has described how she was denied entry to a bomb shelter near the clinic where she works as people took cover, fearing an Iranian rocket attack.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns for her own security if she is identified, told Middle East Eye she was driving between house visits to patients in the Krayot neighbourhood north of Haifa on Friday morning when air raid sirens started sounding.

She said she believed those who refused her entry to the shelter recognised her and knew that she worked at the local clinic - but turned her away anyway. She was wearing her medical uniform at the time.

“When the alert sounded I stopped my car. I saw other Israelis running in the direction of the shelter so I did as well,” she said.

“But when I came to enter they said, ‘No, you are an Arab’, and they closed the door."

Read More: Palestinian nurse denied entry to Israeli bomb shelter by patients

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has addressed the United Nations in Geneva, calling Israel’s actions an “unjust war” and a “stark violation” of Article 2 of the UN Charter.

Araghchi described the Israeli offensives on nuclear facilities as “war crimes,” and decried the “betrayal of diplomacy” ahead of a 15 June meeting with US officials to craft a deal regarding the Iranian nuclear programme. 

Araghchi will now hold talks with officials from the UK, Germany, France, and the EU, according to Al Jazeera.

Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets following congregational Friday prayers in Tehran, in protest of the ongoing Israeli offensive on Iran, Iranian state media Press TV reported.

Al Jazeera reported the presence of prominent Iranian political and military figures such as Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i and former Revolutionary Guard commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari.

According to the Press TV report, similar protests took place in other Iranian cities, as well as in Iraq and Yemen. 

Demonstrators also gathered in southern Beirut to express solidarity with Iran, Al Jazeera reported.

A senior Iranian negotiator who was suspected killed in an Israeli air strike in Tehran last week is alive, according to state media.

Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader and representative at talks with the United States, was thought among the senior Iranian officials reportedly killed by Israeli attacks in the early hours of 13 June.

However, on Friday, state media in Iran carried a letter from Shamkhani addressed to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in which he stated he was, in fact, alive.

"I am alive and ready to sacrifice myself," read the letter, which was reported by several Iranian outlets, including state-owned broadcaster IRIB and Tasnim, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

Read More: Ali Shamkhani: Iranian negotiator thought killed by Israel is alive, says state media

Iranian missiles have struck targets in Haifa and Jerusalem, according to local media reports. 

Local news channel N12 reported approximately 25 launches from Iran, with missiles hitting targets in Haifa as well as Beersheba. 

Israeli news platform Haaretz reported that two people have been wounded in the latest strikes.

In a Telegram statement, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that intelligence reports indicate that the building targeted in Haifa is a “sensitive Israeli government complex.”