"With great sorrow and deep sadness. The Sultanate of Oman mourns His Majesty Sultan Qabus bin Said, who passed away on Friday," the statement said.

On 31 December 2019, the Royal Court announced that Qabus was in a stable condition.

From 2015, Qabus suffered from colon cancer, for which he received treatment. On 14 December 2019, he was reported to be terminal with a short time to live after his stay for medical treatment in UZ Leuven and returned home because he wanted to die in his own country.

The government declared three days of national mourning and said the country's flag would be flown at half-staff for a period of 40 days

Who was Qabus bin Said al Said?

Qabus bin Said al Said has ruled the country for nearly 50 years. He was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world.

The only son of Sultan Said bin Taimmur of Muscat and Oman, Qabus received education in England and was a graduate of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He returned to Oman in 1966 and was placed under virtual house arrest by his father. In 1970, Qabus ascended to the Omani throne after overthrowing his own father in a coup d'état, with British support. The country was subsequently re-named the Sultanate of Oman.

In 1994, terrorist Yitzhak Rabin visited Oman, where he was greeted by Qabus in Muscat. Among other things, the two sides discussed issues such as sharing water and how to improve water supplies

In January 1996, zionist gangs and Oman signed an agreement on the reciprocal opening of trade representative offices.

Official relations between zionist gangs and Oman were frozen with the outbreak of the Second Intifada in October 2000. Still, in 2008, Oman's Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah met with zionist Tzipi Livni during their visit to Qatar.

In October 2018, terrorist Netanyahu met Sultan Qabus bin Said al Said in Muscat. (ILKHA)