Thousands of people joined a protest against Israel in the Iranian capital on Friday after weekly prayers, chanting slogans in support of their leaders, images on state television showed.

"This is the Friday of the Iranian nation's solidarity and resistance across the country," the news anchor said. Footage showed protesters holding up photographs of commanders killed since the start of the war with Israel, while others waved the flags of Iran and the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday said France and other European powers would make an offer to Iran of a diplomatic solution to end the escalating conflict with Israel.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will later Friday meet Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva "to make a complete diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations," Macron told reporters, adding that France and allies Germany and the UK were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected any negotiations with the United States while Israel continues its attacks on Iran, in an interview with state TV broadcast on Friday.

"The Americans have repeatedly sent messages calling seriously for negotiations. But we have made clear that as long as the aggression does not stop, there will be no place for diplomacy and dialogue," said the chief diplomat, who was due in Geneva for talks with his European counterparts.

From Gaza and Lebanon to the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence against children in conflict zones reached "unprecedented levels" in 2024, a United Nations annual report said Thursday.

The report calls out Israel's military operations in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were killed or injured last year.

Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz on Friday warned Hezbollah against entering the Iran-Israel war, after the Islamic republic’s ally said it would act "as we see fit".

"I suggest the Lebanese proxy be cautious and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it", Katz said in a statement, adding that "if there is terrorism -- there will be no Hezbollah."

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join Israel's strikes on Iran within the next two weeks as there is still a "substantial" chance of talks to end the conflict.

Trump's move to hit the pause button could open up space for diplomacy, after days of fevered questions about whether or not he would order U.S. military action against Tehran.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Thursday that his Iran-backed group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.

In a written statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression."

A French court is set to deliver a long-awaited ruling in July on the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats.

The Paris appeals court, initially set to deliver its verdict in February before postponing, will now announce its decision on July 17 after re-examining the request on Thursday.

Israel's military said sirens sounded in the Israel's north on Thursday after missiles were fired from Iran, on the seventh day of war between the two countries.

A military statement said that "sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel", with the army's Home Front Command saying air raid warnings were activated in large parts of the north.

Russia and Ukraine said Thursday they had completed another exchange of captured soldiers, part of an agreement reached earlier in June at peace talks in Istanbul.

"Our people are returning home from Russian captivity," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media, as Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the exchange. Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed.