Tag Archives: Gulf
Three Gulf countries ban Boeing's 737 MAX after crash
The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman on Tuesday banned Boeing’s 737 MAX jet from their airspace following a second deadly crash involving the model within five months. The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority said the move was a “precautionary measure aimed at protecting public safety,” state news agency WAM reported. Budget airline flydubai said it had grounded 13 of its aircraft and would operate flights using alternative Boeing jets in its fleet.
U.S. meeting on Middle East brings together Israel, Gulf Arab states
By Lesley Wroughton and Justyna Pawlak WARSAW (Reuters) – A U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference aimed at building a coalition against what Washington sees as the threat posed by Iran also produced signs of a warming of ties between Israel and some Arab countries on Wednesday. Foreign ministers and other officials from more than 60 countries were gathering for the conference in Warsaw, which was starting on Wednesday evening and whose agenda included Iran, conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Israeli-Palestinian peace. …
No public mood for compromise as Brexit gulf widens: study
There is “no compromise” on Brexit that commands majority public support in Britain, with opposition to Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal the only point of agreement, a leading pollster said Tuesday. “No procedural or substantive option appears to be both widely popular and capable of bridging the Brexit divide,” said the University of Strathclyde’s John Curtice. “The problem with Brexit is that the centre ground of politics is rather thinly populated,” he said, presenting a report entitled “Brexit and Public Opinion 2019″ in London.
Urging Gulf states to heal rift, Pompeo lands in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran – something Doha denies. The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni Muslim GCC, sees the rift as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united Gulf front. “When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” Pompeo, who is on a tour of the Middle East, told a news conference in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Urging Gulf states to heal rift, U.S.'s Pompeo arrives in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran — something Doha denies. The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni Muslim GCC, sees the rift as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united Gulf front. “When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” Pompeo, who is on a tour of the Middle East, told a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha.
Pompeo in Bahrain on first leg of tour of Gulf allies
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Bahrain on Friday, the first leg of a tour of Gulf monarchies which Washington says are “critical” to confronting Iran and jihadists. “These Gulf partnerships are critical to achieving shared regional objectives — defeating ISIS (Islamic State group), countering radical Islamic terrorism, protecting global energy supplies and rolling back Iranian aggression,” a State Department spokesman said. In Bahrain, Pompeo is due to have a working lunch with King Hamad, Crown Prince Salman and Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad Al-Khalifa, according to his official programme.
Qatar emir skips Saudi-hosted summit with Gulf rivals
Qatar’s emir skipped a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with fellow Arab Gulf leaders whose boycott of the small but energy-flush neighbour has sparked a major regional diplomatic row. Riyadh is hosting the annual gathering as crises rumble on over the 18-month-old dispute with Doha, the war in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. The regional powerhouse had invited Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to attend the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council talks, but the foreign ministry in Doha said he would not go.
Iran fears plot by US and its Gulf allies as pressure grows
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — On the same day Arab separatists killed at least 25 people in an attack targeting a military parade in southwestern Iran, President Donald Trump's lawyer mounted a stage in New York to declare that the government would be toppled.
Iran's Khamenei blames Gulf Arab states for military parade attack
Khamenei ordered security forces to bring to justice those responsible for one of the worst assaults ever against the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military force in the country, which answers to him. The allegation will likely ratchet up tensions with Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, which along with the United States have been working to isolate the Islamic Republic. “This crime is a continuation of the plots of the regional states that are puppets of the United States, and their goal is to create insecurity in our dear country,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his website.
Storm Gordon halts some energy production in U.S. Gulf
Three more oil producers pulled employees out of Tropical Storm Gordon’s path, and companies cut 9 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production on Tuesday as the storm churned toward an expected nighttime landfall. The storm, which is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 kph), shifted eastward, reducing its threat to producers on the western side of the Gulf and most Gulf Coast refineries. Companies evacuated 54 offshore platforms and halted 156,907 barrels per day of oil production and 232 million cubic feet per day of natural gas output, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
