Raffi Berg
Middle East digital editor

Image source, Reuters

Only a handful of countries have nuclear weapons: the UK, US, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel is widely believed to have them but neither confirms nor denies this.

So, why can some countries have them and others can't?

The answer lies in a 1968 pact called the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

It says countries can have civilian nuclear programmes, but that no more countries should get nuclear weapons than already have them. The NPT is legally binding and the vast majority of countries signed up to it - including Iran.

However, Israel, India, Pakistan and South Sudan have not signed it, and North Korea has since pulled out.

India and Pakistan were not recognised as nuclear weapon states when the treaty began and they would be required to disarm if they joined it now. South Sudan is a relatively new country with no nuclear programme.

Israel has not signed because it pursues a policy of nuclear ambiguity as a tactic against foes and does not allow inspections of its nuclear facilities, which would be required under the NPT.

Iran, Arab countries and others have long demanded that Israel be pressured into disarming and being transparent about its nuclear programme, viewing Israel's supposed arsenal as a source of regional tension and a threat.

Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and does not possess any, though many countries are not convinced by Iran's claim of peaceful intentions.

In 2002 it was discovered to have had a secret nuclear programme not allowed under the NPT, triggering a years-long crisis which in large part led to today's events.

Image source, Reuters

As European diplomatic talks with Iran continue in Geneva, let's take a moment to look back at what was said before they began.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France and its European allies will present Iran with a diplomatic proposal to end the conflict with Israel, but Iran "must show willingness" - we've broken down the four main components of his proposal.

The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after US President Donald Trump said he would decide whether to join Israeli strikes on Iran within a fortnight.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, said he expects European foreign ministers to demand a "complete rollback" of Iran's nuclear programme.

Earlier, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country won't enter negotiations with the US until Israeli strikes stop, state media reports.

While the talks in Geneva continue, so does the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran - with Israel hit by a new round of Iranian strikes this afternoon.

We're waiting to hear more from the diplomatic talks in Geneva and will bring you the latest developments as we get them.

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent, reporting from Geneva

Back to Geneva now, where talks between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart continue.

Sources say the Iranian delegation at the Geneva talks has asked for a short break for consultations.

The discussions involving foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, and France, as well as the EU’s foreign policy chief, had been going on for an hour and a half.

Sources say a message is being conveyed to Iran during this high stakes meeting that it must accept zero enrichment - a demand it has repeatedly rejected as a red line which violates its right to a peaceful nuclear programme.

Israel's emergency services says that dozens of people have been injured in the north of the country, following the latest round of attacks from Iran.

Three people are in a serious condition, Magen David Adom (MDA) says, including a 40-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy and a 54-year-old man.

Another 20 are in a "mild condition", MDA says, suffering from various blast injuries and shrapnel wounds.

It adds that a 51-year-old woman died in a shelter in Karmiel after suffering a heart attack.

The UK says it is withdrawing staff from its embassy in Tehran, citing the current security situation.

"We have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw our UK staff from Iran," the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says in a statement.

"Our embassy continues to operate remotely."

Earlier in the week, the UK said it was temporarily withdrawing the family members of staff at its embassy and consulate in Israel due to safety concerns.

Image source, Getty Images

Delivering his opening remarks at a meeting of the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns that with the continuation of the conflict between Israel and Iran the world is "racing towards" a crisis.

"The expansion of this conflict could light a fire that no one can control," he says.

Guterres adds that he believes at the centre of the conflict is "the nuclear question".

"Iran has repeatedly stated that it is not seeking nuclear weapons. But let's recognise there is a trust gap," he says.

"I appeal to an end to the fighting and the return to serious negotiations."

While diplomatic talks are underway in Geneva, members of the UN Security Council are meeting in New York to discuss the conflict between Israel and Iran.

We'll bring you any key lines from that meeting as we get them.

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

A senior Israeli government official, who has asked not to be quoted by name, says Israel is not opposed to Iran having a civil nuclear programme, but that it cannot be allowed to enrich uranium inside its borders.

There was no reason, he says, why this could not be done by another country.

He says Israel took this view because once enrichment was underway in Iran, it was a simple matter for it to go well beyond the 3.67% enrichment level needed for peaceful electricity generation.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, says Iran had amassed 400kg of uranium enriched up to 60%.

The suggestion that Iran's uranium could be safely enriched outside the country was reportedly exactly what was being suggested by President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, during negotiations with the Iranians before this conflict began.

Asked what evidence Israel had that Iran had been "racing to build a bomb" - a claim repeated many times since 1995 - the official says three months ago Iran had enough highly-enriched uranium to build six bombs.

Last week, before Israel began its air campaign, he says that capability had jumped to nine bombs.

The news agency AFP reports that diplomatic talks between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi have begun.

Earlier, the news agency Reuters was reporting Araghchi had arrived at the venue in Geneva, after giving a speech at the UN Human Rights Council.

Top diplomats from the UK, Germany, France and the EU are in Switzerland to meet Araqchi in the hopes of finding a diplomatic solution to ease the Iran-Israel conflict.

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

Image source, Reuters

Back in Geneva, and Iran’s foreign minister has warned that Israel’s attack on his country is a ‘"historic moment for human civilisation" in which countries must stand up for international law.

Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council, Abbas Araghchi says Israel attacked his country in the "midst of an ongoing diplomatic process" with the US about Iran’s nuclear capability - a process he says has been "promising".

He describes Israel’s surprise attack as "an outrageous act of aggression", a "stark violation of the UN charter," which defied ‘the standards this council stands for.’

Araghchi was speaking ahead of talks with the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany designed to de-escalate the conflict between Iran and Israel, and return to diplomatic negotiations on Iran’s nuclear capability.

But as the talks are due to begin, the two sides seem far apart: Israel has said it has not achieved all of its goals in Iran yet, and plans to continue its attacks.

Iran insists it has a right to develop peaceful nuclear power, something Israel appears unlikely to accept.

Dan Johnson
Reporting from Beersheba

The air raid siren sounded just as I finished speaking to Michael Pollock whose apartment was damaged here this morning.

An Iranian missile hit the car park at 06:30 local time (04:30 BST) in front of these residential blocks in Beersheba. The windows are smashed, the balconies hanging off.

An excavator had just finishing filling in the crater. Seven people were injured here this morning.

Now we’re sheltering in the basement of the ruined blocks with the emergency teams and construction workers who were just starting the clear up.

Alerts are in place right across the country but Beersheba feels particularly vulnerable - the hospital here was hit yesterday, injuring more than 70 people.

Michael had just told me that he supported continued Israeli military action against Iran and he wanted the US to back it with more powerful weapons. “If we stop now we did it for nothing," he says.

"They will have nukes and then we’re done” he tells me, before his city came under attack for a third time in two days.

When I asked Michael if he feared continuing conflict would mean more attacks, more damage and injury, he says “I’m sure bad things will continue to happen until the people who try to destroy us are no more”.

While we've been hearing from politicians in Geneva, there has been a fresh round of Iranian strikes on Israel.

Two people have been injured in strikes in the country, Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) says.

One is a 16-year-old boy in a serious condition with shrapnel wounds to his upper body, it says, and the other is a 54-year-old man who is in a moderate condition with a shrapnel injury to his lower limbs.

More now from Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, who says he expects European foreign ministers to demand a "complete rollback" of Iran's nuclear programme during their meeting with their Iranian counterpart later.

Daniel Meron calls for the European delegation to push for the "dismantling of [Iran's] ballistic missile arsenal", and put an end to what he calls Iran's "regional terrorist activities and active support for terrorist proxies".

Imogen Foulkes
Reporting from Geneva

Image source, Reuters

Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva says his country has more to do in Iran before the conflict can end.

Daniel Meron sharply criticised the presence of Iran at the UN Human Rights Council, accusing the UN of having lost its purpose, and of betraying victims of human rights violations in Iran.

Meron’s words appear designed to deflect from a speech, due shortly at the council, by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Later today Araghchi will attend talks with the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany, which aim to address growing concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Meron showed no sign that Israel would agree to a ceasefire soon, saying that its attacks on Iran had been "extraordinarily successful", but that "we haven’t yet fulfilled our goals, so we are continuing".

Image source, Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says sirens have sounded in several areas across Israel, warning the public that it has identified missiles launched from Iran.

It says the Air Force is working to "intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat".

Image source, EPA

As we await news from Geneva, where European foreign ministers are set to meet their Iranian counterpart, let's take a moment to review the morning's developments.

• The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy says "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution"
• This comes after Donald Trump said he would decide whether to join Israeli military strikes on Iran "within the next two weeks"
• Lammy, along with French and German foreign ministers, will talk to the Iranian foreign minister about US proposal for a new nuclear deal, our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet writes
• Israel and Iran have continued to trade strikes, with seven people injured in an Iranian attack on Beersheba overnight. Israel said it had about 60 jets hitting targets around the Tehran area

Stay with us we bring you the latest from Geneva through the afternoon

We're starting to see pictures of the foreign ministers of the UK, EU, France and Germany in discussion in Geneva ahead of their meeting with their Iranian counterpart.

The Europeans are hoping to put forward a diplomatic proposal to Iran today to help ease the conflict.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Stuart Hughes
Senior world affairs producer

Image source, PA Media

Imagine a large international passenger plane trying to touch down on the runway of a small regional airport.

This is analogous to what the European foreign ministers - who are meeting their Iranian counterpart in Geneva this afternoon - are aiming to achieve.

They have what diplomats are calling a "thin landing strip" to secure a diplomatic solution in the Israel-Iran conflict.

The fact that UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and Britain's ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, spent almost three quarters of an hour talking to America's Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff in Washington last night is being seen as an encouraging sign by European diplomats.

They believe it suggests that US President Donald Trump is genuinely undecided over whether to join the Israeli attacks on Iran.

David Lammy says a two-week window exists for diplomacy to work. This afternoon’s talks in Geneva will try to ensure that landing strip doesn't narrow any further.

Image source, EPA

We're now hearing more detail from France's president Emmanuel Macron on Europe's diplomatic talks with Iran scheduled in Geneva today.

He says France and European allies will present Iran with a diplomatic proposal to end the conflict with Israel.

According to Macron, the proposal is made up of four main components:

• The resumption of work by the UN atomic agency, the IAEA, to move toward "zero enrichment" of uranium
• Oversight of Iran's ballistic missile activities
• Iran's financing of proxy militant groups in the region
• The freeing of "hostages" by Iran, a reference to foreign nationals held in Iranian prisons

"Iran must show that it is willing to join the platform for negotiations we are putting on the table," Macron tells reporters in Le Bourget, just outside of Paris.

Stuart Hughes
Senior world affairs producer

The UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who's in Geneva for talks with his Iranian counterpart, has just announced that charter flights will be arranged by the UK once Israeli airspace reopens to allow those British nationals who want to leave the country to return home.

Israel's main international airport near Tel Aviv has been closed to passengers since last week, although some land border crossings remain open.

He said: "As part of our efforts to support British nationals in the Middle East, the government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport when airspace reopens, based on levels of demand from British nationals.

"British nationals should register their presence in Israel and the OPTs to be contacted with further guidance on these flights.

"Land routes out of Israel remain open and UK staff are on hand to support British nationals who have crossed the border. This will include providing, transport – subject to demand - to nearby airports for onward commercial flights."