Dubai

DUBAI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Pakistan will pursue individual trade deals with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, a Pakistani official said on Sunday, as talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council remain stalled.

The GCC, which includes those three countries plus Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, started free trade talks with Pakistan in 2004. It has not implemented a free trade deal since 2015.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly roadside bombs targeting Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, raising the specter of wider conflict between the country’s new Taliban rulers and their long-time rivals.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. has removed its most advanced missile defense system and Patriot batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, even as the kingdom faced continued air attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.

The redeployment of the defenses from Prince Sultan Air Base outside of Riyadh came as America’s Gulf Arab allies nervously watched the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, including their last-minute evacuations from Kabul’s besieged international airport.

DUBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Bahraini authorities have authorised the use of a booster dose of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, the first time the Russian shot has been approved for a third dose, the state-run Bahrain News Agency said on Saturday.

The booster shot was approved for use among all over-18s at least six months after receiving their second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine, the news agency reported.

Bahrain and fellow Gulf state the United Arab Emirates have already approved third booster shots using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar played an outsized role in U.S. efforts to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan. Now the tiny Gulf Arab state is being asked to help shape what is next for Afghanistan because of its ties with both Washington and the Taliban, who are in charge in Kabul.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The capital of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday ordered all residents who received the Chinese state-backed Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine over six months ago to get a booster shot by September 20, adding that recipients of other vaccines do not need the third dose.

The UAE became the first country worldwide to formally offer the booster regimen earlier this year, following reports of Sinopharm recipients seeking the third shot amid concerns about an insufficient antibody response.

DUBAI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A top Iranian security official accused U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday of illegally threatening Iran after he said he may consider other options if nuclear diplomacy with Tehran fails.

"The emphasis on using 'other options' against (Iran) amounts to threatening another country illegally and establishes Iran's right to reciprocate ... against 'available options'," Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Twitter.

DUBAI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Qatar is offering COVID-19 vaccines to evacuees from Afghanistan who are temporarily staying in the Gulf Arab state, which has been facilitating global evacuation efforts since the Taliban seized Kabul, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region, has so far helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to Doha and will continue to facilitate international efforts in "the coming days", the ministry said in a statement.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of Iran’s prison system acknowledged Tuesday that videos purportedly obtained by a self-described hacker group that show abuses at the Islamic Republic’s notorious Evin prison are real, saying he took responsibility for the “unacceptable behaviors.”

DUBAI, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi called on Japan to release Iranian funds frozen in the country because of U.S. sanctions, Iranian state TV reported after the president met on Sunday with the visiting Japanese foreign minister.