The main items of Middle East related news in the UK media today are the visit by IAEA inspectors to Iran and the latest developments in the Syrian uprising, where government troops were forces to recapture a part of Damascus from rebels. The Independent reports that the IAEA inspections will play a critical role in deciding whether there will be a military strike against Iran. All the main papers cover developments on Syria and Iran online, as does BBC Online, with many also reporting Iranian threats to cut off oil supplies to some countries. The Daily Telegraph has a report on the visit of Khaled Meshaal to Jordan and his plans to leave Syria, which is also covered by the FT and Telegraph online. The Times reports on Israeli plans for a rail link from the Red Sea to its Mediterranean coast to create a trade route to rival the Suez Canal.

On Sunday the Sunday Times and the Observer had reports about Sheldon Adelson, the American Jewish billionaire who has donated large sums to the election campaign of Newt Gingrich. The Independent on Sunday carried a comment piece arguing that sanctions against Iran would make the situation worse. On Saturday, the Independent reported on Israeli warnings that time is running out to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon, whilst the Times had a story on Israeli Jews becoming more religious.

The Israeli media is dominated by domestic stories, including reports that two minister, interior minister Eli Yishai and finance minister Yuval Steinitz, will be blamed in a forthcoming state comptroller report into the handling of last year’s Carmel Forest fire disaster, and their resistance to calls for their resignation. Maariv prints extended quotes from a recording broadcast last night on Channel 2 News of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstauss telling families of fire victims that the ministers would be blamed. The media also widely reports developments in the inquiry into accusations that Natan Eshel, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief of staff, harassed a female colleague, with Haaretz reporting that Eshel will take leave while investigations are carried out. Maariv reports that Israel offered to the Palestinians to give up sovereignty in the Jordan Valley. Israeli media also widely reports condemnations by Prime Minister Netanyahyu of a Palestinian television programme that praised the murderers of the Fogel family, who were killed in their home in the West Bank settlement of Itamar in March 2011. A crash involving an Israeli Air Force unmanned drone also makes the headlines. The Jerusalem Post covers prominently developments in Syria, as well as the act that 70 West Bank settlements are on a list of communities eligible for development grants, submitted to the Israeli cabinet yesterday.