From Today's Israeli Press
MATHEMATICS
UNWANTED: Michael Milstein asserts in Yedioth Ahronoth that Tehran is trying to leave Israel and the issue of nukes out of its confrontation with the U.S.
STRATEGIC WARNING: Yoav Limor claims in Israel Hayom that the Chief of Staff sees the numbers and fears the IDF will simply fall apart.
DETERRENCE IS USELESS: Meir Ben Shabbat argues in Makor Rishon that Tehran is helping Trump understand who he is up against.
LOST NORMALIZATION: Nadav Eyal stresses in Yedioth Ahronoth that the new Mideast is galloping forward – without Israel.
WHAT ABOUT NUKES? Zvi Bar'el proclaims in Haaretz that the fight for Hormuz shows how far the U.S./Iran war has strayed from its goals.
STRENGTH IS NOT A CRIME: Elisha Wiesel contends in The Jerusalem Post that American Jews and Israeli Jews are family.
From Today's Arabic Press
POLITICALLY DELIRIOUS
EMPTY SLOGANS, MISINFORMATION, AND DECEPTION: The proper description of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, especially toward Iran, is as the manifestation of "presidential political delirium," confusing desire with reality, prematurely declaring victory, repeatedly reversing stances, all in the absence of any viable political plan, maintains Palestinian commentator Mohammad Yaghi in Friday's leading Palestinian daily al-Ayyam. Now, Trump has returned to war; but what 40 days of bombing failed to accomplish will not be achieved by dropping more bombs, because the failure is not merely military, but the failure to formulate an acceptable political end to the war.
THE BAB AL-MANDEB FRONT: Ansarullah leader Sayyed Abdulmalik al-Houthi's warning yesterday to Saudi Arabia to end its blockade of Yemen coincides with reports claiming that Iran has signaled its readiness to close Bab al-Mandeb if the war expands or if critical facilities inside Iran come under renewed attack, notes Editor-in-Chief Nasser Qandil in Friday's Lebanese daily al-Bina. Therefore, the Yemeni strait could soon become part of the regional military strategy if diplomatic efforts fail; this faces Washington with a difficult dilemma, leaving it with renewed negotiations with Iran as its best option.
RENEWED SOARING TENSIONS: Trump may have been biding his time till after the U.S. congressional midterm elections in November before he either returns to full-fledged war on Iran or allows mediation efforts to succeed, but the realities on the ground my force him to end the current restraint once the World Cup ends on Sunday, maintains Lebanese commentator Hussam Kanafani on Friday's Qatari-owned, London-based, pan-Arab news portal www.alaraby.co.uk. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is waiting in the wings for a request by Trump to join the war in the hope of improving his own chances in the upcoming Israeli elections.
HARDLY A PEACEMAKER: When he came to power for a second time, Trump seemed intent on portraying himself as a global peacemaker, but his actions soon exposed the wide gap between his rhetoric and reality, notes Saudi commentator Khaled bin Hamad al-Malek in Friday's Saudi al-Jazirah. In addition to failing to end any of the conflicts raging when he came to power, he started some major ones himself; for people in the region, his tenure has generated more anxiety and fear by failing to restrain either Israel or Iran.
KNOCKING ON BEIRUT'S WINDOW: Lebanon has long been an arena for the competing influences of the U.S., Iran, and the Gulf, but now Turkey is emerging as a new player, argues Lebanese commentator Nada Ahmad Jaber in Friday's UAE daily al-Khaleej. Given Turkey's influence in post-Bashar Syria, it now has an indirect avenue for influencing Lebanon; and it wants this because Lebanon is a part of the Eastern Mediterranean energy equation where Turkey has been in competition with Greece, Cyprus and other countries for years, but also because it views Lebanon as important for Turkish security.