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Iran's Zarif Reassures Gulf Arabs over Nuclear Deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif assured Gulf Arab states Sunday his country's nuclear deal with the West is in their interest and also announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia.

"The solution to this issue serves the interests of all countries in the region. It is not at the expense of any state in the region," Zarif said after meeting Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah.

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Oman Announces First MERS Infection

Health authorities in Oman announced the first case of MERS coronavirus in the Gulf sultanate, state news agency ONA reported.

The patient, an Omani man, is receiving treatment at a hospital and he is "stable", it said in a statement late Tuesday. "He is suffering from a chest infection."

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Envoy Presses Syria Peace Talks Push in Oman

U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met the Omani foreign minister on Tuesday as he pressed a regional tour aimed at building support for a a Syria peace conference next month.

Brahimi arrived in Muscat on Tuesday afternoon from Kuwait, where he met Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah, and is to fly on to Jordan on Wednesday, members of his team told Agence France Presse.

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Oman Airman Dies in Second Training Accident in Weeks

An Omani airman has been killed in the second training accident to befall the sultanate's air force in less than a fortnight, the defense ministry announced Monday.

"Pilot Officer Abdelmalek Ben Yacoub al-Afifi was killed when the fighter he was flying crashed on Sunday evening," the ministry said, without giving further details.

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Pilot Killed in Oman Fighter Jet 'Crash'

An Omani air force pilot was killed Wednesday in an accident involving two Jaguar fighter jets on a training mission in the south of the sultanate, the defense ministry said.

Captain Alazhar al-Shraiqi was killed while the pilot of the second aircraft was unharmed in the "crash" in Dhofar province, a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by state news agency QNA.

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Iran Says in Oman Talks to Export $60 bn Worth of Gas

The Gulf sultanate of Oman is in talks to buy Iranian gas in a 25-year deal worth around $60 billion, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Tuesday.

Zanganeh said Iran and Oman had "signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a gas pipeline" under the Sea of Oman, on the east of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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Oman's Sultan Qaboos in Tehran for Energy, Economy Talks

Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only Gulf leader to maintain good relations with Tehran, arrived in Iran Sunday for a visit focused on economic and diplomatic issues, Iranian authorities said.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said "the main focus of the negotiations is boosting energy and economic cooperation."

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Report: Gulf States May Place Hizbullah on Terror List

Gulf Arab states will consider placing Hizbullah, which is openly involved in the Syrian conflict, on its terror list, al-Rai daily quoted highly placed diplomats on Thursday as saying.

Bahrain will ask foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss "placing Hizbullah on the terror list" at a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the newspaper said.

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Report: Kuwait Grants Oman $2.5 bn as Development Aid

Oil-rich Kuwait will finance development projects in Oman worth $2.5 billion as part of pledges made two years ago by members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the non-OPEC sultanate announced on Monday.

Based on the framework agreement signed by representatives from both countries' governments in Muscat, Oman will receive the funds in 10 years with $250 million to be granted annually, Oman's state news agency ONA reported.

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Kerry, Oman Officials Discuss $2.1 bln Defense Deal

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday discussed a $2.1 billion deal with Omani leaders to supply an American-made air-defense system to the Arab state facing Iran in the Gulf.

Kerry told Oman's Defense Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi that the United States was "excited" about the deal and "very grateful for your confidence in Raytheon," manufacturers of the defense system.

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