​Gulf weekly: Oman’s new sultan, Kuwait’s budget and Iran’s woes

GULF COUNTRIES - Report 17 Jan 2020 by Justin Alexander

The weekly is a skimmable summary of key developments by country, overlaid with our analysis and links to further information. Headlines include:

* Sultan Haitham succeded in Oman and was well received by markets; we are cautiously optimistic that he will decentralize power and implement overdue fiscal reforms.
* Aramco sold a further $5bn in stock and received its first analyst price targets.
* Kuwait’s draft budget sees a record deficit due to lower oil and non-oil revenue.
* Lebanon moved towards a selective default on the bond maturing in March.
* Iran admitted responsibility for downing Flight 752 and faced domestic protests.
* The US Senate moved towards voting to limit future military action on Iran amidst questions about whether there was an imminent threat justifying Solemani’s killing.
* The Iran nuclear deal’s dispute mechanism was triggered and could snap back UN sanctions.
* Khalifa Haftar refused to sign the Libya ceasefire agreement.

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