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Revised February 2024, this map illustrates Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdistan's oil and gas infrastructure. The locations of onshore and offshore oil and gas fields and pipelines, along with the owning companies of each, are marked with associated infrastructure which includes oil refineries, gas processing plants, tanker terminals and LNG facilities. The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

The Independent ran a series of interviews with Al-Saud family members in late February in an advertorial campaign to promote the $20m Saudi Cup horse race. GSN asks who was talking up the event and the background to the British newspaper’s partial Saudi ownership.

Regional elections are expected, with further delays: A polling day for the long-delayed sixth set of elections to the Kurdistan Parliament has yet to be announced. In August 2023, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) President Nechirvan Barzani issued a decree scheduling the elections for 25 February.

Sultan Haitham left Muscat for the UK on 8 February, with no indication of how long he might be away for.

Sheikh Salman Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa has been appointed vice chairman of the Higher Urban Planning Committee, moving on from his previous role as president of the Survey and Land Registration Bureau.

Iranians have been asked to come out in force to vote in elections to the Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) and Majlis-e Khobregân-e Rahbari (Assembly of Experts) on 1 March.

A new Emirati/Italian joint venture, which aims to build and sell large warships to non-Nato countries around the world, claims to have a pipeline of $32bn of orders at launch – and could expand into mid-sized submarines in the future.

Growth in defence spending by Gulf Co-operation Council countries slowed significantly in 2023, but heightened tensions as a result of the Gaza war could prompt another acceleration in military outlays this year.

Revised February 2024, this map of the Gulf illustrates military infrastructure across the region.  The locations of various military bases are displayed alongside each country's military spending and numbers of various military personnel.  The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah travelled to Bahrain and Qatar in mid-February, following trips to Saudi Arabia and Oman earlier in the year. Mishaal has been using the trips to cement regional support for border disputes with Iraq and Iran – although there are signs that Doha is slightly less steadfast than some others over the Iran dispute.

After Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah took exception to comments by a member of parliament about his inaugural speech as ruler in December, the emir issued a decree on 15 February to disband the National Assembly – meaning a fresh general election must be held by mid-April.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mid-February tour of the UAE and Qatar followed the signing of big energy supply deals and the release of former Indian naval officers sentenced to death in Doha for spying.

The IRGC Navy has launched long-range ballistic missiles from one of its ships for the first time, as it continues to flex its muscle in the face of heightened tensions with the United States, but an Iranian spy ship that was thought to have been working closely with Yemen’s Houthis appears to have been sidelined after a US cyberattack.

The Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund has been signing contracts with more lobbying and communications specialists, as it continues to face political scrutiny over its investments in the United States.

Bahrain has set up diplomatic relations with Vanuatu and Qatar with Tonga in a continuation of the trend for Gulf states to expand their diplomatic and development ties with small Pacific Island nations.