Writing in the Guardian, Julian Borger assesses the chances of a deal in the ongoing talks in Lausanne between Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany). He notes France’s tougher line on lifting sanctions and reports that Israel sent officials to Paris yesterday “to maintain French resolve”.

The Guardian online also carries a profile of President Barack Obama and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, suggesting that both men are trying to change the United States-Iran relationship through pursuit of a historic deal and are being attacked by conservatives in the respective countries.

The Times reports President Obama’s interview on the Huffington Post news site in which he calls into question Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for a two-state solution, despite the Israeli Prime Minister’s attempts to retract his comments on the campaign trail, which suggested he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. The report mentions that in the same interview President Obama reiterated his commitment to Israeli security and continued American financial support for Israel’s military requirements.

Times columnist Melanie Phillips argues that President Obama is deliberately “ramping up a crisis over US relations with Israel” by deliberately misinterpreting Netanyahu’s pre-election comments. She agrees with the Israeli Prime Minister that the establishment of a Palestinian is “impossible in current circumstances since it would inevitably become another base for Islamist terror attacks”, and worries that Israel may be “abandoned by Obama” in the diplomatic arena.

The Guardian online reports on the criticism by Republicans of President Obama. The story notes a strong defense of Netanyahu by senior Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain. The same article also covers Israeli’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer’s attempts yesterday to further clarify the Prime Minister’s position. Dermer stated that Netanyahu is not against the two-state solution in principle but is opposed to “establishing a terror state on the West Bank that would create not another Gaza but another 20 Gazas.”

The Daily Express and the Daily Star both report on a sermon delivered by a Hamas cleric on Palestinian Authority television, in which he claims: “Humanity will never live in comfort as long as Jews are causing devastation”.

In other Middle East news, the Independent and the Guardian both report on the deteriorating situation in Yemen, with the Iranian-backed Houthi militia threatening to topple the President and plunge the country into civil war.

The Financial Times reports that US Senator Ted Cruz is the first of the potential Republican presidential nominees to declare his formal candidacy. Cruz is a strong supporter of Israel and one of the foremost voices in the Senate calling for increased sanctions on Iran.

In the Israeli media, Israel Hayom, Ynet and Haaretz all cover Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz’s visit yesterday to France, to discuss the latest round of nuclear talks with Iran. Reports from those talks suggest that France was unhappy with the extent of concessions being considered by the other world powers.

The next stage of the Israeli coalition-building process – President Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin’s meeting with delegations from each party – is reported by Israel Hayom, Ynet and the Jerusalem Post. The Jerusalem Post focuses on the President’s reiteration of his preference for a national unity government and the Likud party’s rejection of that proposal.

Israel Hayom and the Jerusalem Post report on a successful counterterrorism operation by Israel’s Internal Security Service, the Shin Bet. They arrested six Hamas operatives in the Palestinian city of Qalqilya who had planned terror attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank.