Seven people were slightly injured on Friday morning in southern Israel due to a missile fired from Iran, according to Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom, reported Xinhua.
The attack also caused heavy damage to buildings and cars in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, the report said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement later that it struck three missile launchers in Iran that were ready to launch, and a military commander involved in the operation.
In another statement on Friday, the IDF said that in recent days, its fighter jets attacked Iranian missile and radar systems in the Isfahan and Tehran areas, which were designed to hit IDF aircraft and disrupt their operations.
On Thursday, missiles fired from Iran struck a hospital and residential buildings in Israel, wounding more than 30 people, said Israeli health authorities.
Iran's state news agency IRNA, however, said Iran targeted Israel's military intelligence facilities in its strikes on the southern part of the country on Thursday morning, not the hospital as was reported by some media outlets.
Meanwhile, several explosions were reported on Friday across three locations in Iran's western Khuzestan province following Israeli attacks, according to Iran's Mehr news agency.
One blast occurred around 15:00 local time (1130 GMT) in Ahvaz County, shattering windows in residential buildings. Citing local sources, Mehr said the strike targeted an industrial shed that had already been evacuated.
A second explosion was reported in Mahshahr County, where black smoke was seen rising into the sky. Another Israeli strike targeted Shahrak-e Do Kuheh in Andimeshk County, according to Mehr.
Local sources told Mehr that several civilians were killed in the Andimeshk attack. An agricultural well was also reportedly struck during the assaults.
The strikes come as hostilities between Israel and Iran continue to escalate. On June 13, Israeli airstrikes inside Iran killed several senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israeli targets, causing casualties and significant damage. The confrontation has extended into Friday.
Meanwhile, 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.
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- Iran
- War
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
