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TEHRAN TIMES (IRAN): The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) rained tens of missiles at Israeli positions in the occupied territories on Tuesday, responding to a series of terrorist attacks by the regime that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforooshan. The IRGC issued two statements within a few hours, the first acknowledging reports of missile strikes against the Israeli regime and the second announcing that three military bases near Tel Aviv had been targeted. This is the second time Iran has launched missiles at the occupied territories from its soil. During Operation True Promise in mid-April, Tehran hit a number of military targets after the regime struck Iran’s embassy in Damascus. Its Tuesday attack has been dubbed Operation True Promise II. During its first attack against Israel, the IRGC used about 300 of its older technology drones and a handful of ballistic missiles. Reports show the second operation featured a higher level of technological sophistication and deployed a wider array of weapons. Iran deployed hypersonic missiles for the first time since it announced it has them, according to IRIB news as well as statements from the Israeli military.

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Iran fired a massive salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night, sending almost 10 million people into bomb shelters as projectiles and interceptors exploded in the skies above. Soon after the attack, which was largely unsuccessful, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran that it had made “a big mistake” and “will pay for it”. Some 181 missiles were launched in the strike, according to Israeli officials. The Israel Defense Forces said that it intercepted “a large number” of them.

HAARETZ (ISRAEL): After an unprecedented Iranian attack, Israel is in a regional war. The latest escalation relegates Israel’s war with Hamas and even with Hezbollah to second place after the Israeli-Iranian conflict. The U.S., less than five weeks away from the presidential elections, is likely to be drawn into the confrontation, against its will.

ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (GB): Iran said on Wednesday its missile attack on Israel, its biggest military assault on the Jewish state, was over, barring further provocation, while Israel and the United States promised to retaliate against Tehran as fears of a wider war intensified. Despite calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued on Wednesday. Fears that Iran and the US could be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel's growing assault on Lebanon in the past two weeks, including the start of a ground operation there on Monday, while its conflict in the Gaza Strip is a year old.

LE FIGARO (FRANCE): F-14 hors d’âge, nouveaux missiles balistiques, drones tueurs: que pèse militairement l’Iran face à Israël? Malgré les sanctions économiques, l’Iran a développé ces dernières décennies une structure militaire concentrée sur un arsenal puissant de missiles et de drones. Il fut un temps où l’armée iranienne était la plus puissante du Moyen-Orient face à Israël. Mais, à cette époque, l’État impérial dirigé par la dynastie perse des Pahlavi était non seulement allié à l’État hébreu mais aussi “ami”, et à ce titre, coopérait en matière militaire jusqu’à signer en 1977 un accord pour la création de missiles balistiques communs. Aujourd’hui, les deux pays, devenus ennemis jurés, n’ont jamais été aussi proches d’une guerre ouverte. Se préparant à une telle éventualité, la république islamique développe ses forces armées en conséquence depuis quatre décennies. L’Iran, d’abord, a dû reconstruire sa puissance militaire après sa très coûteuse guerre contre l’Irak dans les années 1980.

IZVESTIA (RUSSIA): Несмотря на масштабность обстрелов, остается открытым вопрос, насколько такой ответ адекватен потерям, понесенным проиранскими формированиями в регионе. После убийства Насраллы и его приближенных, а также начала наземной операции на юге Ливана многие ожидали от Ирана более активных действий по поддержке местных групп сопротивления. Пока тактика Ирана не слишком отличается от той, которой он придерживался в апреле, во время операции “Правдивое обещание”. Тогда также был зафиксирован массированный пуск ракет и БПЛА в сторону Израиля, значительной эскалации за ним не последовало. Задача-максимум для Тегерана — нанести как можно больше сопутствующего ущерба Израилю, чтобы более ярко продемонстрировать свою военную мощь и неотвратимость ответа. Тем более что на волне череды удачных операций израильтян страх перед “иранским ответом” несколько притупился — что заметно как по риторике, так и по действиям израильского истеблишмента.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (USA): Israeli response to Iran’s attack to set course of widening war. The U.S. is hoping for a measured reaction, but it has limited ability to influence its closest Middle East ally. Iran launched about 200 missiles at Israel Tuesday, risking a wider war in the region. As Israel weighs how to respond to Tehran’s latest missile barrage, it could take a page from its previous playbook when, after days of deliberation, its military targeted a single Iranian military site. Few expect Israel’s response to be as narrow this time, posing a fresh test as the Biden administration seeks to avoid a new spiral of escalation.

GLOBAL TIMES (CHINA): Iran’s move is a response to a series of recent developments in the region, experts said. “Recently, evaluations from both Iran and the international community suggest that Iran is in a rather unfavorable situation”, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. Iran has endured pressure for a long time, and this move may intend to reverse the increasingly disadvantageous situation for Iran over the past few months, Liu said. Experts warned that the regional situation is at high risk of escalating into multi-point conflicts. The US continues to indulge Israel and tacitly allows it to take any unrestricted military action, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES (INDIA): After pressing an Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire, Biden administration shifts its message. The U.S. has been quick to praise and defend Israel for a series of recent strikes killing Hezbollah leaders. In contrast to its repeated criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed civilians, the U.S. has taken a different tack on strikes that targeted Nasrallah and others but also may have killed innocent people. The Biden administration says there is a significant difference between Israeli actions that have expanded its war against the Iranian-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran’s retaliatory missile attack against Israel, which it condemned as escalatory. In carefully calibrated remarks, officials across the administration are defending the surge in attacks by Israel against Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, while still pressing for peace and vowing retribution after Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

THE GUARDIAN (GB): Stopping Iran’s attack would have forced Israel to use sophisticated – and expensive – defences. Despite launching 180 ballistic missiles, Iran is likely to have wanted to keep most of its stock in case of a full-blown war with Israel. Iran’s decision to launch about 180 high-speed ballistic missiles at Israel indicates that Tehran sought to inflict serious damage in Tuesday’s night attack, unlike the well-telegraphed drone and missile attack in April. Their sheer speed makes ballistic weapons challenging to intercept, but the initial reports of no fatalities within Israel and one in the West Bank would suggest despite the numbers of missiles launched it was a military failure, though some of the weapons or fragments appear to have struck the ground. Iran has been estimated to have an arsenal of about 3,000 ballistic missiles, though the original calculation was made by the US two-and-a-half years ago, so the number may well be higher. Tehran will have wanted to retain the vast majority of its stock in case the conflict with Israel further escalates into a full-blown war. Firing so many ballistic missiles in a few minutes also represents a serious effort to overwhelm or exhaust Israel’s air defences. Because they are sophisticated, the interceptor missiles are expensive – and their stocks uncertain.

AL-AHRAM (EGYPT): Iraq has requested an Arab League meeting at the foreign ministers level on 7 October to discuss the Lebanese crisis. The request followed a series of Israeli assassinations of Hizbullah members which culminated in the use of bunker-buster missiles targeting Hizbullah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, and when fears of the consequences of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon have reached fever pitch. Iraq is a close ally of both Hizbullah and its sponsor, Iran. It was not immediately clear whether the proposed ministerial meeting, which could well be held a year since Israel’s brutal war on Gaza began, will also discuss developments in the Strip. The meeting might not take place if participants are unable to agree a final statement in advance, the bone of contention being whether or not the statement mentions the assassinations of Hamas and Hizbullah leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh who was killed in Tehran on 31 July, and Nasrallah.

ASIA TIMES (HONG KONG, CHINA): Israel invasion could push Lebanon into total state collapse. Lebanon was already teetering toward failed state status and a full war with Israel could well push it over the edge. For the past year, many have feared that the war between Israel and Hamas will spill over into neighboring countries and drag the Middle East into a devastating conflict. While there is still hope that the most dire predictions of regional turmoil will not come to pass, there can be no doubt that the war has now spread to Lebanon. But perhaps lost in the debates about whether Israel can defeat Hezbollah (and Hamas in Gaza), how Iran (Hezbollah and Hamas’ main backer) will respond and who will ultimately win, is the possibility that Lebanon could fail as a state if this war escalates. And that serves no one’s interests. Lebanon is a vulnerable country that has been plagued by devastating economic and political crises, corruption, human rights violations and a breakdown in trust between the government and society over the past decade.

FOLHA DE S.PAULO (BRASIL): Sheinbaum toma posse no México com muito poder, mas capital político incerto. Reformas polêmicas e renegociação com EUA marcarão mandato da 1ª mulher presidente.

THE NEW YORK TIMES (USA): Claudia Sheinbaum will take office on Tuesday, the first woman and Jewish person to lead Mexico in the country’s more than 200-year history as an independent nation. A former climate scientist and Mexico City mayor, Ms. Sheinbaum won in a landslide in general elections in June, and is succeeding her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, as president of the world’s largest Spanish-speaking nation — and the United States’ top trading partner. Ms. Sheinbaum, a leftist, campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of her predecessor, and her win was seen by many as a clear vote of confidence in Mr. López Obrador and the party he started, Morena. But she also takes office in a country with the largest budget deficit in decades, a deepening security crisis and an ever more powerful governing party that has moved to profoundly redesign the justice system and other aspects of public life through a series of constitutional amendments proposed by Mr. López Obrador.

THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN (JAPAN): New Japan ruling party head to evade debate-informed vote with snap election. The new president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who just became the country’s prime minister through a Diet vote, has already called a lower house election for Oct. 27, and is expected to accordingly dissolve the House of Representatives on Oct. 9. We can only say this is nothing but an about-face to prioritize party interests over those of the people. If the LDP really wanted to seek the public’s confidence, it should be gained after offering thorough debate between the ruling and opposition parties as something for voters to contemplate. The timing of the lower house dissolution was a key issue in the LDP leadership race. By making light of parliamentary debate, one can’t help but see it as a way for the party to attempt to call the election while riding a higher level of support for the new Cabinet.

NIKKEI (JAPAN): Japan’s next PM Ishiba to face diplomatic tests at fall summits. Shigeru Ishiba, who is set to become Japan's next prime minister, faces three upcoming summits. Japan's next prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, will face immediate foreign policy challenges, from East Asian security to rising U.S.-China tensions, when he meets with other leaders on the diplomatic stage this fall. Ishiba, a former defense minister, is well-versed in security issues. He called for the creation of an Asian collective defense framework similar to NATO during the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership race.

THE WASHINGTON POST (USA): Vance, Walz square off in what could be final meeting of presidential campaigns. The vice-presidential nominees repeatedly paid each other respect while launching biting attacks on each other’s running mates. It was a political joust with a healthy side of Midwest nice. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) shook hands twice Tuesday before the only vice-presidential debate of the cycle, exchanging broad smiles before repeatedly paying each other respect as they launched sustained and biting attacks on each other’s running mates. In marked contrast to the September presidential clash between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — who hardly concealed their disgust with each other — the running mates often went out of their way to be gracious, while focusing more on policy differences than personal slights.

HINDUSTAN TIMES (INDIA): Who won the debate? Trump congratulates Vance, “Great job JD”. Harris silent on Walz. After the debate Vance admitted being nervous, however added, Walz had a “tough job” having to represent Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy platform. Republicans emerged from the debate optimistic, praising Vance for his composed and thoughtful approach against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The positive reception marks a shift for the GOP, which had questioned whether Vance and Trump could form an appealing ticket ahead of the November election.

LA LIBRE (BELGIUM): Keir Starmer se rend à Bruxelles avec l’ambition de relancer la relation entre le Royaume-Uni et l’Union européenne. Le Premier ministre travailliste veut retisser des liens post-Brexit solides, après cinq années de confrontations entre le gouvernement conservateur et l’UE. Difficile de savoir, pour l’heure, ce que Londres espère de ce “redémarrage”. Les rapports post-Brexit entre le Royaume-Uni et l’Union européenne (UE) n’ont pas été, jusqu’ici, un modèle d’harmonie. Dès le retour des travaillistes au pouvoir, en juillet dernier, le Premier ministre britannique Keir Starmer a dit son intention de “réinitialiser la relation” endommagée par les gouvernements conservateurs, entre Londres, d’une part, et les États membres et autres institutions de l’UE, de l’autre. Cette volonté se traduira notamment par la rencontre entre M. Starmer et la présidente de la Commission européenne, Ursula von der Leyen, ce mercredi, à Bruxelles.

INDEPENDENT (GB): Keir Starmer kicks off his bid to reset Britain’s relationship with the European Union on Wednesday morning - but is facing early demands from leaders on migration, fishing and youth mobility. The prime minister wants to tackle defence and security, crime and immigration, and then trade under a “three pillar” strategy for the crunch talks with EU leaders in Brussels, as revealed by The Independent last week. But Sir Keir will also arrive in Belgium under growing pressure to agree to a youth mobility scheme to allow under-30s to travel more freely between Britain and the EU.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA (RUSSIA): Россия готова к жертвам на нефтяном рынке. ОПЕК+ решит, стоит ли увеличивать добычу в декабре. На 2 октября запланировано онлайн-заседание мониторингового комитета ОПЕК+, на котором представители крупнейших поставщиков нефти оценят ситуацию на рынке. В преддверии заседания котировки Brent лихорадило из-за новостей об эскалации конфликта на Ближнем Востоке. Сделанные в западной прессе намеки на готовность Саудовской Аравии к демпингу пока не получили ни однозначного подтверждения, ни стопроцентного опровержения. Но реакция на такие предположения все же последовала – от российского правительства в лице вице-премьера Александра Новака. Если проводить аналогию, то описанная им логика принятия решений напоминает шахматную игру: иногда приходится жертвовать пешкой – определенной долей рынка, – но лишь для того, чтобы затем, наоборот, занять более выгодную позицию.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (HONG KONG, CHINA): China opinion survey gives Russia high marks; US, Japan seen as “unfavourable”. Annual Tsinghua poll shows most expect significant declines in America’s global influence within 10 years, but optimism about China’s growing global standing. Chinese people hold favourable opinions about Russia but strongly unfavourable views towards Japan and the United States, according to the results of a survey by Beijing’s Tsinghua University. However, the disapproval for America was mostly directed at the US government and its policies, rather than the general public, according to the Chinese Outlook on International Security survey.

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