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It remains to be seen if anything concrete will emerge out of mid-November talks between Iran, Qatar and Russia about developing the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) as an organisation to co-ordinate gas projects and pricing world-wide, and to develop schemes between the three country ‘troika’.

Iran has ambitious plans for developing its huge gas reserves, including exporting gas to GCC member states and Europe and a $4bn Pars pipeline, but bureaucracy and US sanctions remain significant challenges.

Bahrain-Saudi Arabia pipeline shows relations are good. Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) is planning a $2bn expansion of its Sitra refinery. Iran has signed a MoU with Turkey for the development of two phases of its South Pars gas field. International services company Petrofac has been awarded a KD147m ($543m) lump-sum contract by Kuwait Oil Company for a new gas pipeline.

The Iranian navy’s new naval base had been brought to active service near Jask, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. But analysts believe the base would not be operational during any US-Iran showdown.

There was a lull in the speculation over the potential bombing of Iran by the United States or - more likely - its ally Israel, with the world transfixed by Barak Obama's victory in the US presidential election. Talk of significant offensive action against Tehran became intense during the late summer, with two theories circulating on the eventuality of a strike to knock out Iran's nuclear facilities and perhaps other targets. One theory was that the outgoing Bush administration would sanction a strike as its last neo-conservative hurrah; and, two, that Israel would be emboldened to act. In September, UK daily The Guardian, added to the debate by publishing details of documents showing how Washington had sought to rein in Israeli hawks who were ready to attack.

Adnoc signs E&P agreement with Shell; Bahrain invites IOCs for deep onshore gas exploration and signs a memorandum of understanding with Iran for gas supply. Iran state company offers 14 fields for development

Bank Markazi (Central Bank of Iran) governor Tahmasb Mazaheri has been replaced, at least on a temporary basis, by the bank's general secretary Mahmoud Bahmani, who is generally regarded as more malleable. Mazaheri had been increasingly isolated in his resistance to the president's high-spending populism since the departure, earlier this year, of Economics Minister Davoud Danesh Jaafari.

Iran exports gas to Armenia; Oman faces up to energy shortages; Saudi Arabia becomes US’ second largest oil supplier

Iran's use of financial institutions in the GCC and Europe to bypass sanctions remains at the centre of concern for the US Treasury's counter-terrorist financing unit.

Iran is being reviewed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global, inter-governmental body that develops counter-terrorist financing (CTF) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies, as a result of what it says is Iran's failure to comply with international standards of AML/CTF.

The greatest danger to the current Islamic Republican state comes not from foreign military action but from the possibility of a 'velvet revolution' internal wave of protest, believes Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran) commander Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari. That is why Jafari has overhauled security structures, to complete the absorbtion of the Basij militias

With Ahmadinejad finding a second wind as Khamenei endorses nationalist populism, his conservative pragmatist rivals who now dominate the Majlis risk being outmanoeuvred as president and supreme leader unite in defying international opinion over the nuclear issue and continuing a high-spending domestic policy recipe that has fuelled surging inflation.

Sharjah deal ‘not in Iran’s interest’; Oman deal could be reached by year-end; Iran ‘plans $4bn gas pipeline to Europe’

For the UAE’s troubled energy consumers access to gas from Iran is a tiresome and not very successful process – as the experience of Sharjah’s Dana Gas deal seems to show. Imports from Iran to Sharjah have been delayed for over a year and a half, as both sides are yet to agree on a gas price, and Iran has yet to complete building the facilities to pump gas to the UAE. Internal Iranian politics provide a further obstacle as various factions in the Islamic Republic argue about the need to channel gas into the domestic market, rather than meeting export needs.

Defence ministers of the GCC states, meeting in Kuwait, endorsed an earlier proposal by Oman that the Peninsula Shield joint defence force be increased tenfold to 100,000 men. Currently the Peninsula Shield force, based at Hafr Al-Batin in north-eastern Saudi Arabia, has a strength of about 10,000 men.