The British media deals extensively with yesterday’s meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Obama. The Daily Telegraph quotes Netanyahu as telling Obama that Israel would remain “master of its fate”. Obama responded that the United States “will always have Israel’s back”. Anne Penketh, writing in the Independent, writes that the two countries’ approach to Iran “is so united that their policies are indistinguishable”, a theme also picked up by the Daily Mail and BBC. Others focus on the relations between the two, with the Financial Times describing the differences in opinion as “an explosive mix”, and the Guardian’s correspondent characterising Obama “the president of hope” and Netanyahu “the PM of doom”. The Financial Times’ leader calls on Obama to “be robust” and “play the role of Israel’s candid friend.” The Times reports that the IAEA has said that Iran may be experimenting with precision detonations of the type normally associated with nuclear weapons at its facility in Parchin, near Tehran. BBC reports that thousands of Syrian refugees are fleeing the atrocities in their country and heading for Lebanon, as well as another attack on the pipeline that carries gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan.

The Israeli media leads with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to the AIPAC conference early this morning. The speech followed yesterday’s meeting between Netanyahu and President Obama yesterday in Washington which, according to the Jerusalem Post’s Herb Keinon, contained no full agreement, but also no surprises. According to reports, Netanyahu informed Obama that Israel had not made any decision to attack Iran, but reserved the right to protect itself from any threat. According to Ben Caspit in Ma’ariv, the meeting reinforced the points of agreement between Israel and the United States – that Iran must not be permitted to get nuclear weapons and that Israel has the sovereign right of self-defence – but left as many issues unresolved. The key difference between the two, argues Shmuel Rosner in Ma’ariv, is timing; Netanyahu believes time is short, whilst Obama wants to wait. Yediot Ahronot’s Orly Azulai notes the meeting was business-like, but the leaders have failed to develop a relationship of trust. In other news, the Jerusalem Post notes that Canada has announced new sanctions on Iran, banning all financial dealings with the country’s central bank. Ha’aretz reports that former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said he would, “learn the lessons” of the State Comptroller’s report into the bitter feud between his office and the Defence Minister’s office that resulted in the withdrawal of Maj-Gen Yoav Galant’s nomination as Chief of Staff last year.