In the UK and international media today, several papers and online news sources cover the deteriorating situation in Syria and diplomatic efforts to bring the matter to a UN Security Council vote later today. The Daily Telegraph notes that Russia came under increased pressure from the UK and the US to remove its veto from a Security Council resolution calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power. The Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail report that an Israeli drone last week, alleging that the aircraft is designed for a long-range attack in Iran. Reuters reports that Iranian arms smugglers are seeking to bypass the international embargo by using European ships. The Financial Times and Reuters reports that Saudi Arabia oil minister assured international markets yesterday that Riyadh can meet any future world oil shortages caused by sanctions against Iran. Reuters also notes that the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, left on Monday for a tour of Iran and Gulf states, in what is understood as an effort to realign the movement relations in the region in the wake of the Arab Spring.

In the Israeli press, all the papers cover today’s primaries for the Likud leadership, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to win by a large margin. Israel Hayom’s analyst Dan Margalit predicts that the Likud primaries are an opening shot for general elections in Israel. All major newspapers continue to report on the deteriorating situation in Syria and note Israeli assessment that the Syria has entered a decisive stage of the uprising against Bashar Assad’s regime. The papers also follow the political tensions surrounding the proposed extension of the Tal Law, which exempts ultra-Orthodox men from compulsory military service. The Jerusalem Post’s print edition carries a report that Iran has changed the names of 90 cargo ships to circumvent sanctions. The paper, along with Haaretz, reports that US lawmakers are pushing for new sanctions against Iran’s oil industry. Israel Radio News, Haaretz and Yisrael Hayom and the Jerusalem Post note that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in the region to urge Israel and the Palestinians to renew talks. The Jerusalem Post quotes an IDF Radio report that PA President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to extend exploratory talks in Amman until March.