* U.S. said mulling ‘surgical’ strikes on Revolutionary Guards in Iran The New Yorker magazine reported Monday that the U.S. defense chiefs have drawn up new plans for a possible attack on Iran, shifting the focus from a broad bombing assault on suspected nuclear facilities, to “surgical” strikes on Revolutionary Guard bases in Tehran and elsewhere.

* Bolton: Attack Iran, ‘remove’ its leader Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Tory delegates in Britain Sunday that efforts by the UK and the EU to negotiate with Iran had failed and that he saw no alternative to a pre-emptive strike on suspected nuclear facilities in the country.

* Livni to tell UN: Iran nuclear issue will not resolve itself In her address to the United Nations on Monday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to lambaste international inaction on Iran’s nuclear program, charging that some countries are acting as if they expect the problem to solve itself.

* The Morning After: IDF, Police Evacuate 5 Activists’ Outposts After a chilly night in the hills of Judea and Samaria, dozens of activists awoke to find themselves being evicted from the sites where they hope to build five new Jewish communities in the near future.

* Survey: 72 percent of Israelis support using nuclear weapons Some 72 percent of Israelis support the use of nuclear weapons in specific circumstances, a Canadian survey revealed on Monday.

* Assad sets conference conditions Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his government will not attend a Middle East peace conference unless Syria’s concerns are addressed.

* Israel begins prisoner release Israel has begun to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, after hours of delays.

* Pro-Western parties ahead in Ukraine elections Pro-western candidate Yulia Tymoshenko is heading for a narrow victory in Ukraine’s elections, but Russia-friendly Viktor Yanukovych is behind by only a small margin amid risk of political turmoil that could impact the country’s EU and Russia relations.

* Brussels hosts forum to boost EU-Russian dialogue Brussels will host a forum October 1-2 designed to foster dialogue between the EU and Russia, and stress the role of Europe’s ethnic Russian community, an organizing committee member said Monday.

* Outrage at Darfur troop killings A rebel attack that killed at least 10 African Union troops at one of their army bases in Sudan’s Darfur region has sparked international condemnation.