Clinton in Oman for talks with Sultan

OMAN: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived early Wednesday in Oman for talks with Sultan Qaboos about his reform efforts and to share US concerns over neighboring Iran, a US official said.

Clinton will first thank Qaboos for helping to arrange for Iran's release last month of US hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who had been held in Iran after being arrested near the Iraq-Iran border in 2009, the official said.

The pair had been arrested along with fellow US hiker Sarah Shourd, who left Iran in September last year after being granted bail on humanitarian and medical grounds.

As with her two jailed friends, Shourd's bail had also been set at $500,000 and was paid through Oman, a US Gulf ally that maintains friendly relations with Iran, their lawyer said.

The State Department official, speaking to reporters on the flight to Muscat, said Clinton will also follow up on talks she had with Qaboos here in January about social and economic reforms as well as development and education. AFP