Significant coverage continues this morning of the talks in Geneva between Iranian officials and representatives of the P5+1 forum (United States, UK, China, Russia, France and Germany), which moved into a second day yesterday. The Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Times, Independent and Independent i all report that the talks wrapped up yesterday with an agreement to meet again next month. All note an air of positivity that a timeline towards an agreement could be reached with an initial six months of confidence building measures followed by a further six months implementing an “end state” of affairs. Iran appeared to agree to snap international inspections of its nuclear sites as part of the process. The Times quotes Israel’s Minister for International Relations, Yuval Steinitz who warned of worrying signs that an agreement could turn into international appeasement over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

In the Financial Times online, James Blitz analyzes the talks and says that agreement to work towards an “end state” of affairs rather than simply taking incremental steps has been the key to any progress during the last two days. An editorial in the Guardian says that there are still many obstacles ahead towards reaching an agreement between Iran and the international community and argues that an “imperfect agreement” may be better than none. Also in the Guardian, Ian Black notes Saudi Arabian disquiet over the thaw in United States-Iran relations.

The online edition of the Telegraph says that UK and Iranian representatives met directly yesterday in Geneva and agreed to each name a charges d’affaires during the coming weeks, in a further sign that diplomatic relations could be renewed between the two countries. Ties were broken off in 2011 after an Iranian mobbed stormed the UK Embassy in Tehran.

In Syria, the Guardian online reports that a minibus exploded in the southern town of Noa, killing twenty one people including women and children. The Telegraph online says that Syria’s oldest church, in Yabroud near Damascus has been seriously damaged through shelling by troops loyal to President Assad.

The online edition of the Financial Times says that a leaked interview with General al-Sisi in the Egyptian media indicates that the military chief and de facto ruler intends to run for the country’s presidency.

In the Israeli media this morning, talks between Iran and P5+1 representatives in Geneva is the leading story in most dailies. Israel Hayom and Makor Rishon both say the United States believes that the talks are more serious than at any previous point. Yediot Ahronot’s headline quotes the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, who inadvertently spoke with Yediot’s reporter in Geneva and said that the talks would have no bearing on Iran’s relations with Israel. Haaretz says that although the talks ended in a positive atmosphere, a major disagreement remains over easing sanctions on Tehran.

Maariv says that Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have reached an impasse in peace talks over security arrangements in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, which borders Jordan. The report claims that the PA have rejected an Israeli proposal that would see the Jordan Valley become part of a Palestinian state but leased to Israel for a number of decades. Meanwhile, Makor Rishon says that Israeli officials are fearful of a breakdown in talks and a subsequent American position paper being imposed. As a result, Israel has floated new ideas such as handing over sections of the West Bank to Palestinian control in exchange for Palestinian consent to annex other portions of the West Bank.   However talking to Army Radio Israel’s lead negotiator Minister Tzipi Livni refused to confirm any of these media reports but stressed the seriousness of the negotiations process.

Yediot Ahronot, Haaretz and Israel Hayom all report that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid met yesterday to discuss the three candidates to become the next governor of the Bank of Israel. Although they could not reach an agreement they said that a decision would be announced by Sunday.