This issue focuses on Iran where incoming president Sayed Ebrahim Raeisi faces formidable domestic and international challenges, with his task made no easier by the relatively weak mandate given by a heavily- engineered election.
Staying in Iran, the issue examines the steady evolution of Tehran’s missile capabilities since the 1980s, which has seen it make huge gains in range and accuracy. The evidence suggests this arsenal is focused on US and Israeli targets in the Levant – and on Saudi and UAE sites in the Gulf.
The issue also includes several articles examining aspects of the conflict in Yemen. A feature looks at how the Houthis are trying to securing their long-term economic interests in the face of US sanctions, while separate articles look at Saudi Arabia's tactics in dealing with Houthi drone attacks and the UAE's efforts to consolidate its position and influence on the islands of Perim and Socotra.
Risk management reports on Iran and Bahrain include a new Bahrain country map focused on urban infrastructure and the hydrocarbons industry.
The GSN view focuses on Kuwait where the pandemic and the death of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah Al- Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in September 2020 have deepened and widened the struggles within a political and economic system already characterised by paralysis and stagnation.
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