Iranian Lenj vessels are traditionally hand-built and are used by inhabitants of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf for sea journeys, trading, fishing and pearl diving.

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Six British crew members and one American were killed Saturday in a midair collision between two British Navy Sea King helicopters over the Persian Gulf, according to the UK Central Command in Qatar and the Pentagon.

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Lundberg blamed the jump on reduced production from North Sea platforms, tensions among Iran, its Persian Gulf neighbors and Western powers and a dispute between Sudan and newly independent South Sudan that has cut off southern oil from global markets.

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As for many Egyptian contractors, its biggest cash cows are the oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf, but Maridive also operates in places such as the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

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Sea levels were 150 feet lower then, because the cold had locked up so much moisture in northern ice-caps, so not only were most Indonesian islands linked by land, but the Persian Gulf was dry and, crucially, the southern end of the Red Sea was a narrow strait.

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But even more pertinent is the huge variation in their national interests, between those such as low-lying small islands that may literally cease to exist as nations as the sea level rises, and the oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf and Opec for whom the priority is to keep the oil and gas flowing.

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Each is accented with Persian carpets, glass-beaded chandeliers, and Jacuzzis equipped with urns full of bath salts from the Dead Sea, as well as a welcome pitcher of lemonade sweetened with rose water.

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