Daybreak: U.S. Ups Pressure on Iran
Plus Shalit and Grapel, East Jerusalem plans, and more in the news
October 17, 2011
The Iranian nuclear facility at Bushehr.(IIPA via Getty Images)
• In the wake of last week’s sensational allegation of an assassination attempt on American soil, the United States is pressuring international atomic inspectors to reveal their evidence that Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons. [NYT]
• We know Gilad Shalit is slated to come home tomorrow, but it looks like Israeli-American Ilan Grapel, held by Egypt since June, will follow him soon. [Haaretz]
• Israel officially submitted plans to begin a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem; it was condemned by the Palestinian Authority and cautioned by the United States. [NYT]
• The Arab League is considering the fairly extraordinary, if largely inconsequential, step of expelling Syria over the months-long, brutal crackdown of the Assad regime. [WSJ]
• King Abdullah, of Jordan, fired much of his cabinet, giving himself (by my count) his third prime minister since the Arab Spring began. And it is one of the most stable countries in the region! [JPost]
• Much how Al Capone was brought down by tax evasion, for all the controversy over the planned Islamic center near Ground Zero, it may end up being felled by a dispute over $1.7 million in rent it allegedly owes Con Ed, the electrical utility. [NYT]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
