The BBC online reports that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif has denied that the vessel seized dramatically by Israeli naval forces on Wednesday was an Iranian arms shipment destined for Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip. Zarif described the accusation by Israel that weapons had been sent by Iran as “failed lies.” The captured ship is being towed by the Israeli navy and is likely to reach the southern Israeli port of Eilat on Saturday.

The Financial Times online says a new offensive is being planned by Syrian opposition forces against the Assad regime. Apparently, forces are gathering in the south of the country, including the Israeli border region, from where they will attempt to breach Assad’s control of the capital city Damascus. The report says around four dozen separate armed groups will be involved in the offensive.

Meanwhile, the Guardian online says a United Nations report strongly suggests a chemical attack in the Ghouta district of Damascus in August was carried out by Syrian government forces. The report stopped short of apportioning blame for the attack, but indicated heavily that the Assad regime was responsible for the incident in which up to 1,400 people are thought to have died. The Independent online includes a feature on the dismantlement of Syrian chemical weapons, which was prompted by the Ghouta attack. The report says that the entire process has been seriously delayed by intentional stalling on the part of Assad’s government.

In the Israeli media, the focus remains on the seizure by Israeli naval forces of an apparent Iranian arms export to the Gaza Strip. Maariv leads with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments yesterday in which he said that once the vessel reaches Eilat, the true face of Iran will be exposed to the world. Yediot Ahronot leads with an account of the operation by a naval commando while Israel Hayom’s headline quotes Israel’s Director of Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi who said that the operation had been planned for months. Kochavi commented, “We have evidence that bolsters an Iranian connection to the affair and incriminates it.  Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Quds Force managed the smuggling operation.”

Meanwhile, Maariv covers a Palestinian report which claims that Netanyahu and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat have both received a draft copy of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s framework plan for final status talks. However, Erekat later denied that this was the case. Israel Radio news reports that former Palestinian negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh said the greatest obstacle facing the talks is Israel’s demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) recognise Israel as a characteristically Jewish state, a condition which Netanyahu views as a foundation for mutual recognition.

In domestic news, Yediot Ahronot and Sof Hashavua highlight the announcement yesterday by Communications Minister Gilad Erdan that the Israel Broadcasting Authority will be shut down in a dramatic change to Israeli broadcasting. This will result in the abolition of the television tax within the coming year.