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Iran’s consul general in Jeddah Hassan Zarnegar Abarqouie left Tehran early November to take up his post, eight months after Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic agreed to restore diplomatic ties in a China-brokered deal. 

Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah has repeatedly called for a new approach to overhaul Kuwait’s factionalised politics and boost economic reform – a position he restated in his inaugural address on 20 December. But changing a system that appears to encourage stasis rather than co-operation will not be easy for Kuwait’s new, 83 year-old ruler. 

Oman and Iran have agreed to build a $1bn pipeline across the Gulf, and to export 10bcm of gas per year to Oman. State news agencies reported the deal on 12 March, during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s two-day visit to Oman, his first trip to the Gulf since becoming president in June. Oman has been looking to buy gas from Iran for years, and negotiations for this specific deal began months ago; in November, Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh had predicted a contract would be signed in mid-March (GSN 958/12). What was signed at Al Alam Palace was an “initial agreement”, which the Omanis described as a “good start”; the two sides have still not agreed on a price for the gas, however, which will come from Iran’s North Pars field.

Protestors have refused to stand down in the face of sometimes overwhelming state force in the seven weeks since Mahsa Amini died in custody. The movement’s support base has spread across the country and into parts of society not usually associated with political demonstrations, putting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei under unprecedented pressure. His regime is not yet facing the end, but the challenge to the clerical/military leadership will not fade easily or quickly.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad finds himself besieged by a resurgent clerical elite and a parliament (Majlis) firmly behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Opponents are fighting back against Ahmadinejad’s consolidation of power since his disputed re-election in 2009, and his position in what hardline conservatives call a liberal ‘deviant current’ in Iranian politics.

Iranian officials have in recent days reiterated their determination to hold presidential elections on schedule on 18 June, although the voting may have to be extended to a second day given the expectation that the coronavirus pandemic will still have impacts well into next year. It is likely to be an unusual campaign, with a ban on public meetings.

President Ebrahim Raisi took his oath of office in the Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) on 5 August in the presence of Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei and Expediency Council. Raisi’s credentials as president-elect were endorsed by Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the days before his inauguration – an event that highlighted many of the weaknesses of Iran’s international position, but also its potential to improve the situation.

Edge’s radar venture will target non-Nato customers, in a similar arrangement to a recent agreement between Edge and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to manufacture frigates in Abu Dhabi

Saudi officials are trying to put the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi behind them, with a new initiative to kick-start inward investment and a range of soft power initiatives. But while the stellar turn-out of sporting stars, entertainers and business leaders arriving in the kingdom suggests that – rather predictably – many supports for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)’s Vision 2030 agenda see it is business as usual, Riyadh continues to struggle to address criticism of its record on human rights and financial abuses.

Abu Dhabi Executive Office chairman Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been appointed to run the new UAE Genomics Council, which was set up by federal Vice President, prime minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on 15 June. 

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan opened the eighth World Investment Forum, organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The positions, or at least the credibility, of some members of the Al-Thani look perilous in the glare of the global scrutiny reignited by The Sunday Times’ investigations into how corruption might have influenced Qatar’s win of the 2022 Fifa World Cup. But this is not the first time Gulf-centred corruption has erupted across the world’s media, and the Gulf’s ruling families appear to have a good survival record. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bandar Bin Sultan’s activities surrounding the 1985 Al-Yamamah arms sales appeared – to consumers of western media at least – to threaten his powerbase.

Emirati foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has been in Australia for talks.

Published in June 2009, this map provides an overview of global Islamic finance markets. Charts and graphics include Sharia-compliant financial assets by country (Dec 2007), Takaful operators by country (2008), Leading Islamic banks by asset values (Dec 2007), and Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-regional trade