The Middle East conflict continues to dominate the headlines in the UK and US.
UK
US media have reported that the US has used up "virtually all" of its stockpiles of missiles in the five-month war with Iran, writes the British newspaper "Telegraph". It is believed that this refers to the precision-guided "surface-to-surface" missiles The ATACMS and PrSM missiles have been the subject of speculation for some time, with an official warning issued last month that the US military did not have enough of them for "all-out war", the newspaper said. Last week, several US media outlets reported that President Donald Trump had decided not to launch another major offensive against Iran, partly because his military advisers had warned him about the state of US stockpiles, the publication said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has meanwhile been forced to deny claims in some Iranian media that he had repeatedly threatened to resign during disputes with radical factions in the country that oppose reaching an agreement with the US on the Strait of Hormuz, the Guardian newspaper reported. Pozeshkian insisted on during a television interview to mark the second anniversary of his inauguration that he was in complete harmony with the military, the publication said. The interview appeared to be an attempt to dispel the impression that his belief in diplomacy was a weakness, or that he had lost political influence to hardline military leaders, the UK newspaper said.
The episode highlighted deep strategic and tactical differences within Iran over the advisability of negotiations with the US, the "Guardian" notes. Pezeshkian said on Sunday that the memorandum of understanding, agreed with the United States in June and sharply criticized by some hardline Iranians, would serve as a cornerstone for Iran's foreign relations in the future, adding that Iran "must strive to force the enemy to remain faithful to what was signed." However, the conservative-dominated Assembly of Experts issued a statement on Monday calling hopes of reaching an agreement or understanding with the United States "meaningless" and calling "whispers of surrender in the name of protecting peace" "an unforgivable betrayal", the newspaper said.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei himself said in April that he was against negotiations with the US in principle, but out of respect for Pezeshkian he allowed them to continue, the "Guardian" recalls.
USA
President Trump's angry outburst on Monday that Iran was behaving "incredibly hypocritical" in his relations with the US, was another sign of his difficulty understanding the thinking of his enemies in Tehran, writes the "New York Times".
Trump's inability to strike a bargain with Iran has cost him political points among war-weary American voters, and the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to fluctuations in oil prices at the expense of American consumers and the global economy, the newspaper points out.
The publication quotes Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst and official at the US National Security Council, according to whom "in many ways Donald Trump represents the embodiment of American disappointments in Iran". Like many other American presidents, Trump has found that neither a strong desire to make a deal nor military power can get him what he wants, the expert concludes.
According to a number of analysts, as the middle of Trump's second term approaches, one of his characteristic strengths - his ability to make threats on social media, to shock, to cause panic and to turn that panic into the results he wants - has begun to weaken, writes the "Washington Post".
Nowhere is the erosion of the power of Trump's threats more obvious than in the situation around Iran, the publication notes. Trump issued a series of ultimatums to Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to destroy "Iranian civilization" if it does not. "The strait, however, remained closed. "Iran did not give in, and Trump quietly abandoned his stated goal of regime change at the beginning of the war," the Washington Post reported.
Furthermore, Trump's threats have failed to engage European countries in his campaign against Iran, the American metropolitan newspaper writes. He threatened Spain with a full trade embargo after it refused to cooperate, put pressure on Britain, France and Germany to restore UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic and hinted that he might not honor the US's obligations to NATO. However, his allies have refused to get more seriously involved in the war — and some countries, such as Spain and Italy, have even denied the Americans the use of their airspace and bases to attack Iran, summarizes the "Washington Post".