Qatar is the latest Gulf Arab state to welcome the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, calling it a step toward greater stability in the region.

The Gulf's main political power, Saudi Arabia, has previously expressed unease about U.S. outreach to Iran. The dialogue helped along efforts by Washington and others to strike a deal with Iran seeking to ease Western concerns that Tehran could move toward nuclear weapons.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati is expected to kick off a tour to Arab and European countries to urge them to commit to their financial pledges to share the burden of the displaced Syrians, who have put a severe strain on Lebanon's economy.

Miqati, according to An Nahar newspaper published on Monday, will make Qatar his first stop of the tour, which will include Kuwait also.

Qatar has donated $350 million to a fund to compensate civilians and security force members in south Yemen who were forced out of their jobs, the U.N. special envoy said Sunday.

"The south was marginalized under the former regime, its residents discriminated against and its resources plundered," Jamal Benomar said at a ceremony marking the donation.

Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz held talks on Saturday with Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Jaber al-Sabah and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Sources told Naharnet that a Kuwaiti mediation succeed in rectifying the ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar after disputes on regional developments.

An expatriate living in Qatar has died of MERS, bringing to four the number of deaths in the Gulf state from the coronavirus, health authorities said on Friday.

The 48-year-old had other pre-existing health problems, Qatar's Supreme Council of Health in a statement.

Syria has strongly condemned a double bomb blast outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Tuesday that killed at least 23 people, official media reported.

"The Syrian government firmly condemns the terrorist attack carried out near the Iranian embassy in Beirut," state television said.

Qatar's government has approved a draft law making it compulsory for men in the Gulf state to do military service for up to four months, media reports said on Thursday.

Under the proposed legislation, the first of its kind in Qatar, it would be compulsory for men aged between 18 and 35 to serve in the military for three months if they are graduates, and four if they are not.

A Qatari court released on Wednesday a U.S. couple on trial for allegedly causing the death of their eight-year-old adopted daughter to sell her body parts, judicial sources said.

Matthew and Grace Huang are American citizens of Asian origin held in Qatar since January, when their daughter Gloria died in the Gulf state, according to the "Free Matt and Grace" website.

Qatar's emir criticized Tuesday what he claimed were unconditional terms for a proposed peace conference on Syria, saying the talks would lead nowhere and should focus on "achieving justice" for Syria's people.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose country has been a main backer of the Syrian rebellion, criticized "attempts by some to substitute achieving justice for the (Syrian) people, who have paid the heaviest price... with unconditional negotiations that lack a time-frame and lead nowhere."

Qatar's new emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, concluded on Thursday a three-day tour of Gulf nations in which he stressed his support for a regional union.

"This was basically a friendly tour, although it also carried a clear political message expressing the emir's support to the Gulf union initiative presented by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia," a Qatari official told Agence France Presse.