Israel's escalation of military actions against Lebanon and the threat of blocking peace talks between Iran and the United States are in the focus of attention of the world press, BTA writes.
USA
Escalating violence in the Middle East threatens to derail stalled peace talks between Iran and the United States, as negotiators struggle to extend the fragile ceasefire and end the war, the "Washington Post" reports.
Iran suspended talks with the United States on Monday after Israel stepped up its attacks in Lebanon, according to state media and an Iranian official who requested anonymity, the newspaper reports.
At the same time, President Donald Trump insists talks are continuing. "Talks are continuing at a rapid pace with the Islamic Republic of Iran", Trump wrote on social media.
The conflicting news from the Middle East continues: According to Trump, "Hezbollah" and Israel have promised to refrain from expanded military operations. The US president said he spoke by phone with Netanyahu and "Hezbollah". ""Hezbollah" agreed that all shooting would cease - that Israel would not attack them and they would not attack Israel," Trump wrote on social media.
The weekend incursion of Israeli troops into Lebanon, the deepest in decades, has complicated peace talks between Iran and the United States, as Tehran insists that the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon is included in the ceasefire announced in April.
The "New York Times" also draws attention to the contradiction between the optimism expressed by Trump, according to whom Israel and "Hezbollah" have agreed to stop their attacks on each other, and the Lebanese government's statement that a new ceasefire is taking shape between the enemies.
Later, however, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement that made no mention of a new ceasefire. But Netanyahu appears to have backed off from the immediate threat of a strike on the southern outskirts of Beirut, a stronghold of Iran's ally Hezbollah, the newspaper said.
"The New York Times" noted that at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, diplomats - with the exception of the United States - were almost unanimous in calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and to refrain from threatening to escalate attacks on the country.
The meeting, requested by France, took place on a day of turmoil in Lebanon, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes, shelters overflowing and a sense of panic because Israel threatened an immediate attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, the newspaper said.
Prominent Lebanese politician Nabih Berri, with whom the "New York Times" gave an interview, said Hezbollah was open to a new "real ceasefire" and suggested that only Trump could pressure Israel to stick to one.
President Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for escalating tensions in Lebanon in a profanity-laced phone call, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials and a third source familiar with the conversation.
During the call, Trump called Netanyahu "crazy" and accused him of ungratefulness. "You're crazy. You'd be in jail if it weren't for me. I'm saving you. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel for that," Axios quoted Trump's words.
The publication quoted another American official as saying that Trump was troubled by the fact that Israel had killed so many civilians in Lebanon and objected to the Israelis demolishing buildings to eliminate even one Hezbollah commander.
Israel
In an editorial, the Jerusalem Post newspaper said that "forcing the Israeli army to leave Lebanon is a betrayal of the citizens of Israel." "History has repeatedly shown that every pause Israel makes in the hope of calming Lebanon is used by Hezbollah to regroup, rearm and improve its ability to attack Israeli civilians," the newspaper said. According to the Jerusalem Post, "Israel, a sovereign state under constant rocket and drone fire, has found itself in the humiliating position of seeking US approval to protect its own citizens in the north".
"By treating Beirut as a no-go zone to save the failing diplomatic process, the international community has given "Hezbollah" a safe haven from which to continue to drive the residents of northern Israel from their homes," the newspaper commented. The "Jerusalem Post" categorically concluded that "Israel cannot maintain a truce with an organization whose goal remains the destruction of the Israeli state".
"Israel Today" draws attention to another detail: "While the West talks of de-escalation, Tehran is methodically arming its proxies in Yemen, thus ensuring that the Red Sea remains a theater of continued aggression".
Great Britain
"The Times" notes the US president's optimism about the negotiations with Iran, expressed in his post on "Truth Social" yesterday, in which he mocked his critics without mentioning the ongoing military clashes.
"Iran really wants to make a deal and it will be good for the US and for those who are with us", he wrote. "Just sit back and relax, in the end everything will be fine – it always works out!"
According to "The Guardian" Donald Trump said that "Hezbollah" and Israel have agreed to de-escalate tensions and reduce hostilities, seemingly averting an Israeli strike on Beirut and a potential collapse of ceasefire talks with Iran.
The US president said in a social media post that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah officials and that both sides had agreed that "all firing will cease."
"There will be no troops going to Beirut, and all troops that were on their way have already been withdrawn. Similarly, through high-level officials, I had a very good conversation with Hezbollah." and they agreed that all firing would cease," the newspaper quoted Trump as saying.
According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, under the proposed agreement, Israel would not strike the southern suburbs of Beirut unless Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel. However, since Trump's announcement, attacks have been reported from both sides, and both Israeli officials and Hezbollah have made statements casting doubt on the durability of the agreement, the Guardian reports.
According to the Independent there are concerns "that Israel is actually trying to permanently expand its borders through its occupation with ground forces in the south in Gaza, the presence of Israeli troops in Syria, and now through its advance north, deep into Lebanese territory".
The Lebanese prime minister has accused Israel of implementing "scorched earth" tactics and imposing collective punishment on the Lebanese people. The Israeli defense minister, for his part, has said they will not stop until they crush "Hezbollah", notes "The Independent".