The i this morning reports that Iran has taken a step closer to creating a contiguous land corridor of Shia forces to the Mediterranean, described by the story as being “the biggest prize yet for Iran in its involvement in Syria’s six-year-old civil war”. The story notes that Iran is well placed to play a major role in the shaping and rebuilding of Syria after the conflict, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his concern over Iranian and Hezbollah influence in southern Syria in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday.

The Financial Times reports that a meeting between US senior political advisor Jared Kushner and Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry was abruptly cancelled after Shoukry criticised the US decision to cut £78m in military aid to Egypt.

The “big read” feature in the Financial Times today examines ISIS’s efforts to extract valuable assets such as oil and currency from their territory before any territorial defeat.

The Financial Times also reports on the deal between Egypt and Hamas to reopen the Gaza border, which the story notes reflects the “changing dynamics” of their relationship.

The Financial Times, Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail all report that Playtech, the online gambling and investment trading company founded by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, is bolstering its financial arm with the £117m acquisition of a UK brokerage firm.

The Independent reports that the 2017 winner of the Miss Lebanon Emigrant beauty pageant has been stripped of her title after it emerged she had visited Israel.

All the Israeli media focus on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting in Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The headlines of both Maariv and Haaretz relate Netanyahu’s comment that Iran must withdraw from Syria to avoid war. Yediot Ahronoth describes a tense meeting between Netanyahu and Putin; “notwithstanding the smiles that were shared by Netanyahu and Putin, who praised Netanyahu for strengthening relations between the two countries, major differences in Moscow and Jerusalem’s position remained unchanged. Not only does Russia not consider Hezbollah to be a terrorist organisation, it considers Iran to be a stabilising force in Syria and supports Assad. As such, the assessment is that Putin will not change his policies and will not take steps to oust Iran from Syria”.

The Times of Israel reports that the head of the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon says his force has no evidence that weapons are being illegally transferred to the country’s south, pushing back against US and Israeli criticism of the mission. The UN Security Council is expected to renew the peacekeepers mandate, known as UNIFIL, which is due to expire on 31 August.

The Times of Israel also reports that Lebanon’s Prime Minister visited soldiers near the border with Syria, and said that victory against the Islamic State group is near.

Maariv reports that that according to a local Reform group, security guards at the entrance to the Western Wall complex in Jerusalem asked four female rabbinical students to lift up their shirts and skirts ahead of the Women of the Wall’s monthly prayer service at the holy site.

Haaretz reports that the Civil Administration has removed mobile classrooms from a Palestinian Village Jubbet Adh-Dhib in the West Bank. The Civil Administration says they had been built without the necessary permits.

Haaretz reports on the Police explanation for moving the weekly Saturday night demonstrations in Petah Tikva against corruption. Both Haaretz and Yediot Ahronot report that the Supreme Court said that the right for quiet for the residents is less than the right of people to demonstrate.

On its front page, Maariv also reports that President Rivlin visited an ultra-Orthodox school.