Morning Brief, Thursday, August 31

Iran

The U.N. deadline for Iran to halt the production of nuclear fuel arrives. A defiant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces in a televised speech that Iran will not back down from its right to possess nuclear material. In response, the United States, Britain, France, and Germany quickly begin drafting sanctions that could include travel bans for Iranian officials, restrictions on sales of dual-use technologies to Iran, and limiting the country’s access to global financial markets. The EU independently says it will continue talks.

Israel & Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora entertains the possibility of a prisoner swap with Israel. Under such a deal, Lebanon would return the two Israel soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah on July 12, and Israel would give up all Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. U.N. Sec.-Gen. Kofi Annan, in a historic trip to the Middle East, says he expects Israel to be fully removed from Lebanese lands within 10 days.

Darfur

An American- and British-backed measure that would send nearly 22,500 U.N. policing troops to Darfur neared a vote in the Security Council sooner than expected. It comes on the heels of a Red Cross worker’s abduction and murder in the region.

Elsewhere

Two people are killed when an explosion rocks a Baghdad gas station, and a U.S. soldier was killed in a security operation north of the capital. Hurricane John, expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm, forces 10,000 to evacuate in Mexico. The literary world mourns the loss of famed Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz. California attempts to chart its own course for greenhouse gas reductions, pitting Gov. Schwarzenegger against business groups.