The Guardian and Telegraph report that Iran has indicated its willingness to release a UK-flagged oil tanker it seized in return for the release of a detained Iranian tanker. “We do not seek the continuation of tension with some European countries,” “If Britain steps away from the wrong actions in Gibraltar, they will receive an appropriate response from Iran”, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a weekly cabinet meeting. He was speaking after a two-day visit by Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi who had revealed he went to Tehran at the request of former UK Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt to negotiate the release of the Stena Impero. The Iraqi Prime Minister revealed that “there was a phone call with the British defence minister to discuss bilateral ties, the regional crisis, and efforts of de-escalation and decreasing tensions in the region, and also the existing crisis covering the confiscated ships”. BBC News, the Independent and Reuters report that the Stena Impero’s owner has confirmed that it has made contact with the crew and that they are “safe”.

The Financial Times reports that the UK appeal for a European maritime alliance to protect commercial shipping in the Gulf is struggling to gain traction. France and Germany have voiced strong political support for the UK , though neither have committed to sending naval forces, and both have stressed the need to reduce tensions and find diplomatic solutions to the Iran tanker crisis. The German foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the country had not yet received any official request from the UK for a military contribution. France confirmed it was discussing maritime security in the Gulf with the UK and Germany, but did not promise extra ships or joint patrols – instead mentioning heightened surveillance of shipping lanes.

Reuters reports that the US has blocked an attempt by Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa to get the UN Security Council to condemn Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Israel said the 10 apartment buildings demolished on Monday had been built illegally and posed a security risk to Israeli armed forces operating along the separation barrier that runs through the occupied West Bank. UN officials, who had called on Israel to halt the demolition plans, said 17 Palestinians faced displacement. Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa circulated a five-paragraph draft statement to the 15-member Security Council that expressed grave concern and warned that the demolition “undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for just and lasting peace”.

BBC News and Reuters report that US President Donald Trump has vetoed resolutions in both chambers of Congress to block the sale of $8.1bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump said the resolutions “would weaken America’s global competitiveness” and damage its relationship with its allies. Congressional members had said they feared the weapons could be used on civilians in the Yemen conflict. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed the Senate would hold a vote on whether to override the president’s veto, though analysts say it is almost certain that the chamber will not have the necessary two-thirds majority.

The Guardian reports that secret photographs reveal that large shipments of Australian-built arms were sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in June. Labelling on pallets identify the seller as ATK Alliance Techsystems Operations (Orbital ATK), a US-based company which sells the equipment manufactured by an Australian firm Electro Optics Systems (EOS). The suppliers boast that the equipment is “significantly enhancing lethality” in combat.

Reuters reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that new US proposals for a safe zone in northern Syria fall short and Turkey was “running out of patience”. US special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey held talks in Ankara this week on the zone and other issues, including progress on a roadmap agreed last year for the northern town of Manbij to be cleared of the Kurdish YPG militia. The militia has been the main US ally on the ground in Syria during Washington’s fight against IS, though Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organisation and has repeatedly demanded that Washington cut its ties.

BBC News and the Independent report that Egypt’s minister for expatriate affairs has downplayed the significance of comments she made about its critics abroad, whom she said would be “cut”.  She later said she liked to improvise and that “such simple, spontaneous words reach the hearts of the people”. Makram also denounced what she called the “manipulation” of her words.

Reuters reports that the UAE’s military drawdown in Yemen is building momentum towards a ceasefire. Two diplomatic sources said talks could start on expanding a UN-led truce in place in the port city of Hodeidah to a broad ceasefire. This could pave the way for negotiations on a political framework to end the war. There is now “real momentum” for a cessation of hostilities by December, a source in the region familiar with the matter said, though “a million things could still go wrong”.

Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have discussed resuming oil production in jointly operated fields in the Saudi–Kuwaiti Neutral Zone. Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for energy affairs visited Kuwait to “continue to discuss and cooperate on the resumption of oil production in the southern [Neutral Zone] after settling all required technical issues from both sides”. The two countries halted output from the jointly run oilfields – Khafji and Wafra – more than four years ago, cutting some 500,000 barrels per day or 0.5 per cent of global oil supply.

Reuters reports that the UAE telecoms company du (DU.DU) has discussed US restrictions on Huawei with the Chinese company and believes they will not hamper its 5G network. Du uses Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but the UAE company’s chief executive, Osman Sultan, said it had discussed the matter with Huawei and it did not see “any issue”. “We do not have a concern for the network deployment, for the use of Huawei equipment within the network,” Sultan said.

Reuters reports that Turkey celebrated incoming UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Turkish heritage on Wednesday, with politicians and media proclaiming that the “Ottoman grandson” could strengthen ties between the two countries. Johnson is the great-grandson of the Ottoman Empire’s last interior minister, Ali Kemal.

In the Times, Lucy Fisher examines the career of incoming Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State Dominic Raab: “Dominic Raab is the karate black belt who will now bring his forceful Brexiteer vision to bear on UK diplomacy after he was made foreign secretary last night”.

In the Times, Anshel Pfeffer argues that the excavation of an ancient roadway leading uphill to the Old City of Jerusalem has become a source of historical and political contention: “While Israelis have sought to uncover the roots of ancient Jewish civilisation, underlying their claim to the land, Palestinians have accused Israelis of trying to obliterate evidence of Muslim history and of preparing the ground for a new Jewish temple, in place of the Al Aqsa mosque. Israeli excavations have previously led to violent riots – digging up Jerusalem’s past is fraught with peril”.

All the Israeli newspapers report the merger between Meretz and Ehud Barak’s Israel Democratic party. While Yediot Ahronot also reports that Ayelet Shaked, the leader of the New Right party, said she would only support a Netanyahu government if he commits to form a right wing coalition and not a national unity government with the Blue and White party.

Ben-Dror Yemini in Yediot Ahronot writes: “A merger within the left wing is desirable because when votes are lost in any camp that is damaging to democracy. A few months ago the split right wing resulted in four seats being lost. In the upcoming elections the same thing is liable to happen to the left wing. But a few questions need to be asked. First, what constitutes the left wing?  There is no question that Meretz is left wing. But is Ehud Barak? After all, ever since he returned from the Camp David summit with his assertion that ‘there is no partner,’ he was turned into the left wing’s punching bag. Actually, he was right. He offered the Palestinians a state—something that none of this predecessors had ever done, and he proposed partitioning Jerusalem, something that went against Israel’s holy of holies. The Palestinians were unimpressed. They said no. And Barak became an object of loathing for the Israeli left wing. A few months went by. The Palestinians began a murderous Intifada. Not because “they had no vision” of a peace agreement; after all, one had just been offered to them and they rejected it. They launched the Intifada to scuttle an arrangement based the two states for two peoples paradigm. A left wing dream government was in post in Israel at that time: Barak, Shlomo Ben-Ami and the late Yossi Sarid. That didn’t prevent the situation from deteriorating into the worst riots in Israel’s history in September 2000. Thirteen Arab Israelis were killed in those riots. Thirteen too many. The Orr Commission, which investigated the events, blamed Barak and others. Looking back, it’s clear that the commission’s report was unfounded; it neither changed nor improved anything. What is clear is that the lives of Jews were in danger, one was even killed, because people like Sheikh Raed Salah and Azmi Bishara encouraged the Intifada. Barak never thought for a moment that he should be the one to apologise. Quite rightly. The people  who led the riots should be the ones to apologise.”

Haaretz reveals that a Hezbollah operative who was killed in Syria by an airstrike two days ago was part of a network operated by the Shi’ite terror group which is dubbed “The Golan File” and whose purpose is to establish military infrastructure along the border with Israel. Israel’s defence establishment tracked the network for a long time and studied it, focusing in particular on the central entities leading it. Syrian media reported that Israel assassinated the operative, who has been identified as Mashhour Zidan. Zidan, a resident of the Golan Heights Druze village of Hader, was responsible for recruiting members from villages on the Syrian side of the border. The members he recruited were expected to amass military intelligence on IDF activity in the area and stockpile explosives, firearms, machine guns and anti-tank missiles in their homes  in preparation for a future military confrontation with Israel.

Israel Hayom reports: “Israel has now shifted into high gear its efforts to prevent Hezbollah’s military entrenchment along the (Golan) border.  The attack on Tuesday on Tel al-Hara was the third recent attack on the Syrian side of the Golan border that was ascribed to Israel. All of those attacks were aimed at Hezbollah targets, mainly observation points that Hezbollah has been trying to build along the border…. It seems that the public exposure of those efforts, which was designed to apply pressure on top Hezbollah officials and to scuttle their plans, failed to produce the desired result. As a result, judging by recent reports, the IDF has reverted to taking aggressive action against Hezbollah’s efforts to entrench on the Syrian side of the Golan border.”

Anshel Pfeffer in Haaretz discusses the new UK Prime Minister, noting he “has always been a very pro-Israel politician. He will now be the first prime minister to have volunteered as a student on kibbutz. He has also been withering in his criticism of Israel’s opponents: During a visit to Israel in 2015 while still mayor of London, he said he could not “think of anything more foolish” than boycotting Israel, and that those Brits who supported boycotts were “ridiculous, snaggle-toothed, corduroy-wearing, lefty academics.” These remarks led to most of the scheduled meetings with Palestinian groups on his trip to be cancelled. But his support for Israel has often been tempered by criticism of its government’s policies. In the summer of 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, he said in a radio interview he was “a passionate Zionist” but that Israel’s actions in Gaza were “disproportionate.” … Johnson, whose great-grandfather on his mother’s side was a rabbi, was always seen as being very close to the Jewish community in his years as mayor.” He concludes, “Johnson’s attitude to the region will be determined in accordance with his efforts to deliver Brexit and the trade agreements Britain will need to negotiate if and when it leaves the EU. His government’s policies toward Israel, therefore, will be fluid and depend on whether Britain needs more goodwill from the United States or Europe at any given moment.  Brexit was supposed to “bring back control” over Britain’s policies. Instead, it has ended the United Kingdom’s status as a player with any real global influence. Even if Boris Johnson turns out to be the most pro-Israel of British prime ministers, it will be immaterial — as he will certainly be the least influential on the global stage.”

Kan news reports that the US blocked an attempt last night to pass a resolution in the UN Security Council condemning Israel for the home demolitions in Sur Baher a few days ago.  In the draft of the resolution, Kuwait, Indonesia and South Africa expressed deep concern about Israel’s actions, which they argued undermined the chance for a two-state solution and for a just and viable peace.  Israel announced that the ten buildings that were demolished were still under construction, had been built illegally and were posed a security risk to the security forces.

Channel 12 News revealed former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert cancelled a planned visit to Switzerland after he was notified that he is liable to be arrested there for alleged war crimes. Olmert was planning to visit on Monday but cancelled his trip when the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry received a statement from the Swiss authorities saying that he will be taken for questioning on suspicion of war crimes during the IDF operation in Gaza while he was prime minister.