Creating a consortium for all users of enriched uranium?

Via Pygalgia, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries make an offer to Iran:

DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Gulf states are willing to set up a body to provide enriched uranium to Iran to defuse Tehran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear plan, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister told a newspaper on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries -- Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates -- share Western concerns that Iran's nuclear energy program will lead to it acquiring atomic bombs, a claim Tehran denies.

"We have proposed a solution, which is to create a consortium for all users of enriched uranium in the Middle East," foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).

"(We will) do it in a collective manner through a consortium that will distribute according to needs, give each plant its own necessary amount, and ensure no use of this enriched uranium for atomic weapons," he said, according to MEED's Web site.

Prince Saud said Iran was considering the offer, which envisages building a plant in a neutral country.

"We believe it should be in a neutral country -- Switzerland, for instance," said Prince Saud. "Any plant in the Middle East that needs enriched uranium would get its quota. I don't think other Arab states would refuse. In fact ... other Arab countries have expressed a desire to be part of the proposal."

"They (Iran) have responded that it is an interesting idea and they will come back to us. We hope the Iranians will accept this proposal. We continue to talk to them and urge them not only to look at the issue from the perspective of the needs of Iran for energy, but also in the interests of the security of the region."

The six Gulf Arab states have announced plans to start their own nuclear energy program, raising concern over an arms race in the world's top oil exporting region.

Um... not that this isn't a good idea, but just a reminder that Saudi Arabia is no real friend of the United States. So... using Switzerland would be a really nice idea...

Pictures from the cyclone Gonu that hit Oman

Via Moonbootica of Devizes Melting Pot who has more photos:

Gonu killed 15

And badly flooded areas:

MUSCAT, Oman — Semi-trucks were trapped in flooded highways here Thursday after Cyclone Gonu battered Oman's coast on its path toward the world's most important crude oil tanker route. At least 15 storm-related deaths were reported.

But as the cyclone — a rarity in the Middle East — headed from Oman to the southeastern Iranian coast, it continued to lose steam, dropping off to tropical storm strength early Thursday, according to the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The center predicted Gonu would make landfall on the southeastern Iranian coast late Thursday. But it was likely to spare Iran's offshore oil installations that lie more than 120 miles to the west, the center and oil officials said.

But look at this:

At least 12 people were killed from the storm in Oman, including members of police rescue squads, and others were reported missing, said Oman Royal Police spokesman Abdullah al-Harthi. He did not provide further details.

POLICE RESCUE squads. Are you listening, FEMA? Oman shows us how to work during a hurricane.

Iran's state broadcasting company said on its website that some small villages in Sistan and Baluchistan province, on the Gulf of Oman, were still encircled by floods and authorities used helicopters to drop emergency supplies to them.

The storm affected power and telephone lines elsewhere in the province, but caused no major damage, provincial governor Habibollah Dehmardeh told the official IRNA news agency.

Even Iran has helicopters dropping supplies to cutoff cities.

[Gonu] is believed to be the strongest cyclone here since record-keeping started in 1945.

Even though these countries haven't dealt with such an unusual threat, look at how they worked to contain the damage. Maybe Bush will learn.... nah, forget it. We gotta wait until his Category 5 administration is out of office before we can clean up the mess.

(Updating from this post.)

Hurricane in Oman

Via Bryan at Why Now? and the excellent Dr. Jeff Master's site, updates on the first ever hurricane to come aground in this area:

Weather obs from Musqat showed that pressure went down to 993mb and stayed there for three hours, and winds have been steady at around 30mph with gusts to 50mph.

The AP reported, 'Oman's eastern provinces were cut off, with heavy rains making the roads unusable and communication lines severed. "We have no communication with them, nothing," said a senior police officer.'

GulfNews notes: 'Azhar Al Kindi, a member of Oman's National Committee for Civil Defence, said the government was working to restore power to the region.

He added: “There is extensive damage to properties in most towns in the eastern region including Sur and Ras Al Hadd.'

Gonu has weakened and is moving parallel to the Oman coast, but enough offshore that there will be very little in the effects of wind -- however surge and waves will still be a problem, and possibly rain.

(Picture taken from article)

Updating from this post.

What kind of weather will our nine warships in the Persian Gulf experience?

Category 5 hurricane nearing Oman

Via Sorghum Crow at Sorghum Crow's General Store, a Category 5 hurricane is aiming at Oman. Why should we care?

Oman:

Oman’s economy is heavily reliant on oil revenues, which account for about 75 percent of the country’s export earnings and 40 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). During 2006, Oman’s real GDP grew at an estimated rate of 4.2 percent, down from 5.7 percent in 2005. The slowdown in economic growth occurred largely as a result of declining oil production in Oman. To help offset these declines, the government has devoted considerable resources to new exploration and production activities, enhanced oil recovery projects, and introduced policies aimed at diversifying the country’s economy away from the oil sector. The development of natural gas reserves in Oman is a central part of this effort, and natural gas production is likely to expand considerably during the next several years.

All of Oman’s domestic energy consumption is supplied by natural gas and oil, reflecting the country’s relative abundance of oil and natural gas reserves.

And don't forget the nine warships we have bobbing about in the Persian Gulf.....

Updates found here.

Cheney in Oman

Promising what to whom?

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney landed in the U.S.-allied Arab monarchy of Oman on Sunday and went directly to talks with its foreign minister, Omani government officials said.

A U.S. embassy spokesman in Oman declined to detail Cheney's plans or the focus of his visit to the sparsely populated oil-producing state, which allows the United States use of four air bases. But an Omani government official said Cheney was to discuss regional security issues, including the U.S. standoff with Iran over its nuclear program. The official, in the capital Muscat, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to the press.

Oman sits across the strategically important Strait of Hormuz from Iran, through which two-fifths of the world's oil passes.

The sultanate allows the United States to use the air bases - including one just 50 miles from Iran - for refueling, logistics and storage of pre-positioned military supplies. Little has been revealed publicly about U.S. military ties with the reclusive country, a deeply sensitive topic inside Oman, an isolated country on the southeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula that has been a quiet U.S. military ally for decades.