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The Gulf region’s politicians and business leaders returned in force to the World Economic Forum (WEF) held as ever in Davos, Switzerland, but at a different time of year. The most senior regional leader to turn up was Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who gave a speech at the opening session.

The collapse of the ten-storey Metropol building in Abadan, Khuzestan province, on 23 May has given added momentum to protests around Iran. Crowds booed Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s envoy Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir when he visited the rescue scene on 29 May.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has been comfortably re-elected as speaker of the Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) for the third consecutive year.

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nejada) commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has said Iranian shipping faces increased piracy risks in the Red Sea. Nejada has maintained a continuous at-sea presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since 2008, usually consisting of a frigate and one of its two Bandar Abbas class light replenishment oilers, sometimes supplemented by a third ship. 

The Iranian Holy Defense News Agency gave prominence to a ceremony on 22 May that celebrated the return to frontline service of a single grounded Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (Iriaf) F-14 Tomcat. The F-14 entered service in 1974 and was retired by the US in 2006, but Iran has been forced to retain it and other obsolescent US models, including F-4 Phantoms, due to international sanctions.

Israel is adopting a more proactive, aggressive approach to countering the Iranian nuclear threat and regional ambitions with covert action against Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) figures in Tehran and the four-week Exercise Chariots of Fire, which is expected to culminate with a simulated air strike and commando attacks on Iran.

GSN Risk Grade: D↓5. Food protests: A sharp rise in the price of wheat and other staples has provoked protests around Iran. The Ministry of Agriculture cut subsidies on wheat imports on 1 May, in the face of rising international prices, which have been driven ever higher by the war in Ukraine, a major global supplier.

Allies of Iran-backed Shia party Hizbollah under-performed in Lebanon’s 15 May parliamentary elections, when they failed to secure a majority in the 128-seat National Assembly. The shake-up to the Lebanese political environment offers new opportunities for Gulf states that may be thinking about re-engaging with Beirut after a period of keeping their distance.

Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri inaugurated a drone factory in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 17 May. Bagheri had arrived the previous day, to be greeted on arrival in the Tajik capital by chief of the general staff Lieutenant General Imomali Sobirzoda.

France has condemned the arrest of two of its citizens in Iran as 'baseless' and called for their immediate release. Several other French citizens have been arrested and convicted of spying in recent years.

Iran appears to have succeeded in placing at least one surveillance mini-satellite into orbit in late December, based on imagery released this month showing large parts of the Bahraini capital Manama, including the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad made a surprise visit to Tehran this month for talks with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi. The trip came less than two months after the Syrian ruler was in Abu Dhabi.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani has embarked on an extensive tour of foreign capitals over the past week, in a trip that seems designed to shore up hopes of a revived Iran nuclear deal and to bolster Qatari gas exports.

Iran has continued to complain that the trial of former Iranian public prosecutor Hamid Nouri in Sweden is politically motivated.

Chinese defence minister General Wei Fenghe made a brief tour of the Gulf in April, starting with a visit to Tehran on 27 April. He held talks on military cooperation and other matters with defence and armed forces logistics minister Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani and other senior officials.