There is widespread coverage this morning of Syrian President Assad’s claim yesterday that his forces have already received or will soon receive the first shipment of the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia. The Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Daily Mirror, Metro, Independent and Financial Times all report Assad’s comments during an interview with the Hezbollah-backed Al-Manar television station. All note warnings from Israeli leaders that if Syria makes the S-300s operational it could prompt Israeli action, as the sophisticated weapons system threatens Israel’s aerial dominance in the region. An op-ed in the Telegraph by Israel’s former-prime minister and defence minister Ehud Barak argues that Russia is the key to finding a diplomatic solution which can end the bloody Syrian civil war.

Meanwhile, the Guardian says that the bitter battle between Syrian opposition forces and Hezbollah fighters for the town of Qusair raises fears that Syria could be ‘Balkanised,’ becoming a series of local and possibly lawless fiefdoms. The Independent, Independent i and the online edition of the Telegraph report that leaders of the Syrian opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Coalition, have announced that they will not participate in US-Russia sponsored talks planned for next month in Geneva, due to the “invasion” of Iran and Hezbollah forces in Syria. The Telegraph online says that the Nigerian government has uncovered a Hezbollah cell working in the country, planning to attack Israeli and Western targets there. A separate piece in the same publication reports that Argentina’s state prosecutor says that there is new evidence of an Iranian terror network throughout Latin America.

The Independent i and the online edition of the Telegraph highlight that approximately one thousand new homes have been put up for sale in the East Jerusalem suburb of Gilo. However, the Telegraph online notes that the plans for these housing units were approved last year, before Israel’s government appeared to quietly suspend approval for new building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in order to boost the chances of kick-starting peace talks with the Palestinians. The article speculates that the latest development was leaked by Jewish Home’s Housing Minister Uri Ariel, in an attempt to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into either permitting or explicitly halting new construction.

The Telegraph includes a report that an unnamed Israeli official has complained that the UK government does not take a sufficiently tough stance on anti-Israel boycott campaigns and threats to Israeli representatives in the UK.

The online edition of the Guardian reports that Israeli conscientious objector Natan Blanc, who has been imprisoned on ten occasions for refusing to enlist in the Israeli army has been granted an exemption from military service.

The Guardian online and the Telegraph online cover an announcement that the United States has eased restrictions on technology sales to Iran, in an attempt to allow the Iranian people to circumvent government restrictions on internet use prior to next month’s presidential election.

The headlines in the Israeli media largely focus on yesterday’s comments by Syria’s President Assad in a TV interview. Haaretz warns that if Syria does obtain the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, it will endanger Israel’s aerial superiority in the region for the first time in three decades. Writing in Yediot Ahronot, Yossi Yehoshua cautions that Israeli warnings of a potential response over the S-300s could back Israel into a position of taking action or risk denting its’ deterrence. Maariv simply asks “What to do with Assad?”  Meanwhile, Yediot Ahronot leads with Assad’s claim that there is “popular pressure” to open a new military front against Israel on Syria’s Golan Heights border. Israel Hayom says that the government is launching a new drive to distribute gas masks throughout the country.

Yediot Ahronot also reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed that Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians operate a joint military presence in the Jordan Valley. The future of the area is a point of disagreement between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.