Kerry in Oman to help ink deal for air defence system

AFP/MuscatUS Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Oman yesterday aiming to help finalise an estimated $2.1bn deal to supply a US-made air-defence system to the country. One of the main focuses of Kerry’s trip was to applaud the signing of a letter of intent between Muscat and US manufacturer Raytheon ahead of talks to negotiate the final contract, officials told reporters on the flight to Oman. “In January the Omanis made a decision to buy a ground-based air defence system produced by Raytheon... something that the secretary advocated for when he was in the Senate,” a senior State Department official said. Kerry had strongly backed the bid by the company based in his home state of Massachusetts, before taking office as the new top US diplomat on February 1. “Part of the goal of this is to push US commercial interests, to demonstrate to Oman that these are important to this administration,” the official added. After arriving, Kerry first headed for talks with Sultan Qaboos. The final details of the Raytheon deal have yet to be worked out, but officials said the contract expected to be signed today would be worth an estimated $2.1bn. “It will further integrate the defensive systems in the Gulf, which is something we have been working on quite a bit within the GCC,” the official said. “There are similar systems elsewhere in the Gulf,” she said. “Oman has also recently brought a second tranche of F-16s so this is a way of continuing our relationship in the defence arena and will have pluses in terms of interoperability.” US officials said the deal to supply 12 F-16s was sealed in 2011 for delivery through 2014. Kerry will also discuss the war in Syria. “Oman is not a key player in Syria, but as an important player in the Gulf it will be good to hear the sultan’s views on the situation in the region writ large,” the State Department official said. “So it’s a chance basically to do a signals check with an important ally.” Kerry is also likely to urge Omani leaders to try to intercede with Iran for the release of two jailed American-Iranians. Former US Marine Amir Mirzai Hekmati, 29, was detained in August 2011 while visiting his elderly grandmother on his first trip to Iran. He was accused of being a CIA operative. Kerry has also said he is “deeply concerned” about the fate of an Iranian-American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been sentenced to eight years in jail. The US is also still seeking information about retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who went missing six years ago while on a trip to Iran.