Cyclone heads for Iran after battering Oman

Cyclone Gonu battered Oman’s coast yesterday with fierce winds and torrential rains, forcing thousands from their homes and shutting down oil installations before heading towards the world’s most important crude oil tanker route.

The storm – a rarity in the Middle East – was expected to make landfall on the southeastern Iranian coast late today, according to the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.