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For several days, the Paris-based Voltaire Network/Réseau Voltaire has been running stories that say recently appointed General Intelligence Directorate (GID) head Prince Bandar Bin Sultan was the target of a bomb attack in Riyadh on 26 July, and has died from his injuries. The Saudi embassy in London told GSN it could not comment on the story, which has been spreading online.

The authorities in Bahrain have long sought definitive proof that Iran and its Gulf proxy network, Hizbollah Al-Hejaz, are actively undertaking militant actions inside Bahrain. Based on contacts within Bahrain’s security services, GSN has periodically reported the thin gruel of evidence that has built up over time, largely consisting of 1990s-era arms caches unearthed by new building activity or occasional evidence of Bahrainis travelling to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq to receive training or money from Tehran’s intelligence services.

The one-upmanship between US and Iranian naval forces has intensified, forcing both sides to look closely at their operational and tactical thinking. Since Iran reorganised its naval forces in 2007, its thinking on a naval war with the US has become increasingly sophisticated. The axiom of the new thinking (as expressed by Iranian leaders and in professional service magazines produced by the armed forces) is that symmetric force-on-force encounters between large US and Iranian vessels would be a losing game.

Moscow was bitterly disappointed by the failure of the P5+1 talks it hosted in June. Tehran’s stubbornness may lead Russia to adjust its approach to Iran, but no major shift is expected in a relationship based on mutual interests

The level of US forces in the Gulf is the highest in more than a decade, with carriers to display power and an increase in demining vessels to make sure the Strait of Hormuz is clear. But the aim seems to be to pressure Iran politically, rather than prepare for military action.

Some 116 men and 31 women from the Gulf region are expected to compete in the London Olympic Games which begin on 27 July. The largest team comes from Iran (54) and the smallest from Oman, which is sending just four competitors

Saudi Arabia has reopened an old pipeline built by Iraq to bypass Gulf shipping lanes, according to industry sources quoted by Reuters. On 28 June, the news agency said Riyadh had taken the measure as a precaution against Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

The prominent position accorded to Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) chairman Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi at the funeral prayers for Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz on 18 June highlighted the Saudi leadership’s alignment with conservative influences across much of the Arab world.

In post-occupation Iraq, even the parliamentary balance of seats may not be enough to oust a wily opponent. In late April, Moqtada Al-Sadr and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massoud Barzani separately approached the Iranian government about replacing Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.

Iran has become increasingly isolated in recent months, as the West applies sanctions intended to pressure it into halting its nuclear activities. Washington and its allies fear Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is an attempt to build atomic weapons, while Iran says it is refining uranium for a network of nuclear power plants.

Higher oil prices that could potentially result from new US and European Union economic sanctions against Iranian oil exports, which take effect from June, would be credit-positive for most international oil companies (IOCs), but negative for corporate sectors such as airlines, oil refining, European autos and retail, according to Moody’s Investors Service

Published in May 2012, this graphic illustrates data for the Middle East North Africa region taken from the IMF World Economic Outlook. Selected indicators include real GDP, consumer price inflation and current account balance. A map of the region is shaded to show revisions to 2012 GDP growth forecasts, while a chart shows fiscal breakeven oil prices.

Iran’s desire for greater control of Iraq’s Shiite establishment poses a delicate challenge for Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, who sees Iran as both a necessary ally and a potential threat to his monopoly on power

Iran’s provocative visit has reignited the dispute over Abu Musa. The UAE quickly withdrew its ambassador from Tehran and is likely to toughen its stance, while for Iran, the furore is a welcome distraction from problems at home