WASHINGTON, Aug 1 : US Secretary of State John Kerry departed late Friday to Egypt for cooperation talks and to Qatar, where he hopes to ease Gulf countries' concerns about the Iran nuclear deal.
The trip, which ends August 8, will not include a stop in Israel, one of Washington's closest allies and a fierce critic of the newly-hatched Iran nuclear agreement.
During his stop in Egypt Sunday, Kerry was to meet with his counterpart Sameh Shoukri for a "strategic dialogue" between the long-time allies, which have
had a tumultuous relationship in recent years,
following political unrest in the northern African nation.      ?AFP