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Trump tells Iran to make deal after Israel blasts

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Spot gold up over 4% so far for the week

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Platinum heads for weekly gain

(Rewrites for U.S. morning trading)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sarah Qureshi

June 13 (Reuters) - Gold prices soared on Friday as

investors flocked to safe-haven assets following Israeli

airstrikes on Iran, re-igniting fears of a broader conflict in

the Middle East.

Spot gold rose 1.7% at $3,439.79 an ounce as of 0923

EDT (1323 GMT), coming within striking distance of its record

high of $3,500.05 set in April. Prices gained more than 4% so

far this week.

U.S. gold futures added 1.7% to $3,461.

"Israel knocking out Iranian targets is causing a little bit

of geopolitical scare in the market. Prices will stay elevated

in the anticipation of what is to come, the retaliation by

Iran," said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO

Futures.

Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Friday,

saying it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories

and killed a swathe of military commanders in what could be a

prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Iran had brought

the attack on itself by resisting a U.S. ultimatum in talks to

restrict its nuclear program.

Softer U.S. inflation prints earlier this week added extra

shine to gold, bolstering expectations of interest rate cuts by

the Federal Reserve.

Bullion is widely regarded as a safe asset, especially

during times of economic turmoil and geopolitical unrest. It

also tends to thrive in a low interest rate environment.

Goldman Sachs reiterated its forecast that structurally

strong central bank buying will raise the gold price to

$3,700/toz by end-2025 and $4,000 by mid-2026. BofA sees a path

for gold to rally to $4,000/oz over the next 12 months.

On the physical front, demand in major Asian hubs weakened

this week as rates soared, with prices in India zooming past the

psychologically important 100,000-rupee mark.

Spot silver eased 0.3% at $36.24 per ounce, gaining

nearly 1% for the week.

Platinum fell 3.9% to $1,244.91 and was up 6.3% for

the week. Palladium fell 0.3% to $1,052.28 but added 0.7%

so far this week.