BBC News and Reuters report that the US has issued satellite images and cited intelligence to back its claim that Iran was behind Saturday’s attacks on the Abqaiq facility, the world’s largest petroleum processing plant. Iran denies involvement in the air attacks, which were claimed by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. But unnamed US officials speaking to US and international media say the direction and extent of the attacks cast doubt on Houthi involvement. The incident has cut global oil supplies by 5% and prices have soared. BBC News, the Financial Times and Reuters report that oil prices have surged by nearly 20%, with Brent crude jumping to $71.95 a barrel at one point. US oil prices also spiked, but both trimmed gains as President Donald Trump authorised the release of US reserves.

The Guardian, Times and Reuters report that the US and Iran have exchanged barbed threats following Saturday’s drone attacks. President Trump has said the US was “locked and loaded” and ready respond, tweeting on Sunday that he had “reason to believe that we know the culprit” behind the series of attacks on Abqaiq facility. Iran has vehemently denied US accusations, warning that it is prepared for “fully fledged war”, with Brigadier-General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) aerospace force claiming that any US base or ship within a 2,000-kilometre radius of Iran was within range of its missiles.

The Independent reports that US Senator Lindsey Graham has urged the US to consider attacking Iran in response to the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry. Lindsey Graham, a prominent foreign policy hawk, suggested that hitting the country’s own refineries would “break the regime’s back”.

Reuters reports that Kuwait is investigating the sighting of a drone over its territory and coordinating with Saudi Arabia and other countries. “The security leadership has started the necessary investigations over the sighting of a drone over the coastline of Kuwait City and what measures were taken to confront it,” the Kuwaiti cabinet said on Twitter.

Reuters reports that officials and analysts have said that though Iran has distanced itself on Sunday from Saturday’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities, hardliners in Tehran might chalk the assaults up as a win against Washington’s maximum pressure strategy against Iran.

Reuters reports that South Korea said on Monday that it would consider releasing oil from its strategic oil reserves if circumstances around crude oil imports worsen. The comments came as oil prices surged to four-month highs on Monday. South Korea’s energy ministry has said in a statement it anticipated no short-term impact on securing crude oil supplies from Saudi Arabia. But if the situation drags on it might disrupt crude oil supplies, the ministry added.

In BBC News, Jonathan Marcus writes that that Saturday’s attacks “destabilises an already volatile region”: “Tehran knows that Mr Trump, for all his bluster and unpredictability, wants to get the US out of military entanglements and not into new ones. That gives the Iranians the ability to apply some “maximum pressure” of their own”.

In the Financial Times, Nick Butler argues that Saudi Arabia is ill-prepared to handle disruption that will follow Saturday’s attack by rebels in Yemen on the facilities at Abqaiq which handle the bulk of Saudi oil production and exports.

In the Guardian, Patrick Wintour maintains that Saturday’s attacks dampen the faint chance of a Trump-Iran meeting: “Despite no specific evidence of Iranian involvement, the US treat Yemen’s Houthi rebels as tame creatures of Tehran”.

In the Times, Boer Deng maintains that Tehran’s hardliners are exploiting President Trump’s desire for a deal with Iran: “The drone strikes in Saudi Arabia that have […] shattered the prospect of a rapprochement between Tehran and Washington that looked possible only a week ago”.

The Guardian and Reuters report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held his final pre-election cabinet meeting in the settlement of Mevo’ot Yericho in a last-ditch attempt to win votes ahead of Tuesday’s election. Netanyahu said on Sunday that annexing the Jordan Valley “guarantees that the [Israeli] military will be here forever” and would give the country “strategic depth”. The Times reports that the Israeli government has authorised a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The settlement, which presently exists as an unauthorised outpost near Jericho, north of the Dead Sea, lies in part of the West Bank that Netanyahu said he would annex if re-elected. His announcement was condemned by the Palestinians and European governments, but was widely seen in Israel as an election promise without substance. The attorney-general initially opposed the “legalisation” of the outpost but Netanyahu put pressure on him to relent.

In the Independent, Ahmed Aboudouh examines the reason why Prime Minister Netanyahu is ready to “torpedo peace in the Middle East”: “Continuing his weekly series about the complexities of the Middle East, Ahmed Aboudouh looks at Israel’s controversial plan to annex the Jordan Valley”.

Reuters reports that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement of his intention to the Jordan Valley demonstrates that Israel is becoming a “racist, apartheid regime”. On Saturday, Turkey’s foreign ministry said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would convene in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss Netanyahu’s statement.

Reuters reports that Turkey’s defence ministry said on Sunday that the delivery of a second battery of Russian S-400 missile defence systems has been completed as of Sunday, and added that the systems would become active in April 2020. Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 system, which the US says is not compatible with NATO defences and poses a threat to F-35 ‘stealth’ fighter jets.

The Times reports that French President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have signed a secret deal in an attempt to ease Franco-German friction over arms exports. The agreement is designed to stop Berlin from blocking the sale of French weapons that contain German parts to countries with questionable human rights records. There is anger in Paris over Germany’s human rights policy, which the French say is undermining attempts to move towards a common European defence policy.

The Times and Independent report that colleagues of a British-Australian academic imprisoned in Iran have rallied to support her after the Australian government confirmed she has been held in solitary confinement for a year at Evin prison in Tehran. Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Cambridge-educated scholar of Islamic studies at Melbourne University, was named last week as the third foreign national to have been imprisoned in Iran.

The Independent reports that Ahmet Davutoglu defected from the AKP on Friday. Davutoglu is a former AKP secretary general and has served as prime minister and foreign minister of Turkey under President Erdogan. But he has fallen out of favour with Erdogan in recent years, and has been sharply critical of his rule in recent months.

The Times reports that President Trump has confirmed that Hamza bin Laden’s son killed in a US counter-terror operation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Last month US media, citing intelligence sources, reported that bin Laden had been killed in an airstrike in the past two years. Hamza was emerging as a popular al-Qaeda leader and was designated a terrorist by the US two years ago. In February 2019, a $1 million bounty was offered for information leading to his capture.

Reuters reports that the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran have met to secure a lasting truce in northwest Syria following attacks by the government that risk deepening regional turmoil. The summit in Ankara, bringing together countries whose Syrian allies are combatants in a ruinous eight-year-old war, will focus on the Idlib region, the last remaining territory held by rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Reuters reports that Syrian troops shelled the south of Idlib on Sunday, according to rescuers and residents in the rebel stronghold where a ceasefire had halted a fierce army offensive two weeks ago.

The Financial Times reports that a French hotel group is to manage two luxury hotels in Damascus, becoming the first western company to return to Syria’s tourist industry since civil war broke out in 2011. Louvre Hotel Group will operate the only internationally run upmarket hotels in Syria on behalf of the local Nazha Investments Group.

Reuters reports that the Taliban on Sunday revoked their ban on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan and gave a guarantee of security for its staff doing humanitarian work in areas under their control. Taliban leaders imposed a ban on the ICRC and World Health Organisation in April saying the organisations were carrying out “suspicious” activities during vaccinations campaigns and not sticking to their declared missions.

The Telegraph reports that Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community are mobilising in a “fight for soul of [the] Jewish state in [a] knife-edge election”: “every time Aryeh Deri spoke of the dangers ahead for Israel’s most religious Jews, the sea of wide-brimmed black hats in front of him rippled with nods of agreement”.

In the Guardian, Donald Macintyre interviews young Gazans ahead of the Israeli elections: “On Gaza City’s quayside, Palestinians fear that Benjamin Netanyahu’s rivals in Tuesday’s poll are as belligerent as he is”.

In the Times, Edward Lucas argues that President Trump’s “sloppiness with secrets” threatens the UK: “Successful spying relies on a strong brand – but blunders are fraying the West’s reputation”.

In the Times, Richard Spencer contends that the celebration of Ashura in Beirut is a metaphor for the empty threats of Hezbollah and Israel: “Anyone would think Hezbollah didn’t like the sight of blood. Elsewhere in the world of Shia Islam, the annual festival of Ashura involves bloody displays of ritual self-harm”.

In the Financial Times, Mehul Srivastava examines the significance of Israeli-Arab voters ahead of the Israeli elections: “When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won an April general election, his final haul was boosted by infighting among his main ideological rivals – a handful of Arab politicians. But he failed to convert his victory into a governing coalition and opted for an electoral rerun, due to take place on Tuesday. In it he faces Israeli-Arabs as a force transformed”.

In the Financial Times, Mehul Srivastava argues that Avigdor Lieberman has successfully challenged Benjamin Netanyahu’s hold on the right: “The former defence minister’s secular pitch could make him the political kingmaker”.

In the Independent, Bel Trew examines the radical settlement of Beit El which she purports to “reveal the truth about Trump and Netanyahu’s relationship”: “A radical settlement deep in the West Bank offers clues to the close relationship that critics say is undermining a peace process for the region”.

All the Israeli media report that Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his appearance at a large campaign party rally in Bat Yam last night because he had received reports that low voter turnout in Likud cities would lead to a victory for Benny Gantz and he had to attend an emergency meeting. This was largely viewed as a scare tactic to increase Likud voter turnout.

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said: “The government under my leadership will reset priorities: it will take action to put a stop to the fire from Gaza at once by means of disproportionate force. It will pass budgets for the healthcare system and will build new hospitals and ERs in the periphery. We will transfer responsibility for early childhood education to the Education Ministry, we will invest in teachers, and most of all—we will look out for you and not hound the law enforcement agencies.”

Benjamin Netanyahu promised to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan valley immediately after the election and afterwards: “Over all the settlements and additional areas of security and national importance in Judea and Samaria.” Netanyahu also highlighted his record in office claiming: “Economic growth is at a record level, as are the per capita GDP, tourism and exports. Unemployment is at an all-time low. We have connected the periphery to the centre with a network of roads and railroads. Israel was recently ranked one of the ten most powerful countries in the world. That is the direct result of our resolute leadership and judicious policies.”

Kan news reports that Benny Gantz asked President Reuven Rivlin yesterday to only ask a party leader to form a Government if they promise to come back to the president, and not dissolve the Knesset, if they can’t form a governing coalition.

Haaretz reports that last week Prime Minister Netanyahu called off a significant attack on Gaza at the last minute. The decision followed the rocket fired towards Ashdod while Netanyahu began to address a campaign rally in the city.  Later that evening Netanyahu convened military and security chiefs and proposed, according to the paper, “an unusual military move, which would likely have had far-reaching implications.” The attorney-general intervened at the last minute as the plan required the approval of the security cabinet.

The Israel media reports that the cabinet unanimously approved legalising the illegal outpost of Mevo’ot Yeriho yesterday. The decision was made at a special cabinet meeting that was held in the Jordan Valley.  Netanyahu said there was a high probability that the US peace plan would be published immediately after the elections, and it was therefore important to approve the establishment of Mevo’ot Yeriho now. Peace Now told Yediot Aharonot:  “This is probably the first time in history that the Israeli cabinet has held a cabinet meeting outside Israel’s sovereign territory. Netanyahu is trying, by force, to bring about annexation, which means an end to the occupation and the start of apartheid.”