The war in the Middle East continues to be the number one topic in the Western press.
French President Emmanuel Macron today proposed a moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Middle East, in particular - on energy facilities, writes the newspaper "Figaro".
The French publication draws attention to the threat of US President Donald Trump to destroy a gas field if Iran again attacks an important gas processing complex in Qatar.
V. "Mond" notes that the Iranian attacks on the "Ras Laffan" complex were carried out in response to yesterday's Israeli attack on "South Pars", from where about 70% of the natural gas consumed in Iran is extracted.
Trump's war in Iran is far from a disaster, writes an editorial in the "Daily Telegraph".
To claim that the campaign is going badly is wrong, and to claim that (the head of the Iranian security services, Ali) Larijani, who was killed in the operation against Iran, was a reasonable man is stupid, the British publication believes.
War with Iran means many different things, writes the "Independent".
For Trump, the reasons for starting the war evolved from a desire to destroy Iran's military capabilities to overthrowing the regime in Tehran, the British publication points out. Netanyahu, however, remains firmly focused on eliminating what he sees as Iran’s triple threat: its nuclear weapons program, its ballistic missile capabilities, and Tehran’s ability to support regional proxy groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
Trump knows that war is unpopular at home and among his allies and creates instability in the global economy. With midterm elections coming up in October, the US president is likely to want the conflict to end relatively soon. Netanyahu, on the other hand, notes the "Independent", would not want to end the war without inflicting a decisive defeat on Iran, which would at least put an end to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Like Trump, the Israeli leader will be running in elections in October and will want to present himself as the winner of the war with Iran. How Trump and Netanyahu manage to resolve these differences will determine how – and for how long – the war will play out.
The US and Israeli strategy of assassinating senior Iranian officials could prove counterproductive, writes the Guardian. "This is not a regime of personalities", Sanam Vakil, an Iran expert at "Chatham House", told the Guardian.
V. "The Washington Post" draws attention to the statement yesterday by the head of US intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to lawmakers that the regime in Iran appears seriously weakened but still functioning.