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Kerman blast: Around 100 people were killed and nearly 300 injured in two explosions at a cemetery in the southern city of Kerman on 3 January, at an event marking the fourth anniversary of IRGC Quds force leader Qasem Soleimani’s death in a United States drone strike.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) is charging ahead on multiple domestic and international fronts, raising eyewatering sums from princes and others accused of corruption, with apparent public support but amid deep concerns from other factions in the ruling family and critics abroad. GSN has heard unconfirmed reports that at least one of the most high-profile ‘guests’ in the Riyadh Ritz Carlton has been put on suicide watch, suggesting events could yet get out of hand.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) made a phone call to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces deputy supreme commander Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) on 6 September, formally to discuss bilateral and regional issues.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) on 8 November received the United Nations secretary-general’s special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths in Riyadh. The meeting gave Griffiths an opportunity to congratulate MBS “on the success of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to reach the signing of [the] Riyadh Agreement between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council”, as the official statement put it.

Attending the World Cup in Qatar and lending his backing to everything from major tourism schemes in isolated corners of the kingdom to mega-airports and yet more youth-focused entertainment, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has made himself central to promoting a more dynamic image for Saudi Arabia, even as his regime frightens most of its critics into silence.

Kuwait Finance House was the target of a complex fraud attempt in which a fictitious arbitration award was presented to the High Court in London and used to secure court orders to seize almost $90m in assets.

A relatively rare phone call between Bahrain’s King Hamad and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim on 3 March followed signs of progress being made on the long-delayed Friendship Bridge project to create a physical link between the sometimes feuding neighbours.

Bahrain’s ruler reached the 25th anniversary of his time in power on 6 March. A silver jubilee flag was commissioned for the occasion

The contradictory signs emanating from Riyadh over recent weeks – of socially liberalising reforms, a likely easing of some economic reform targets and a fresh crack-down on ‘unhelpful’ commentators – are often hard to make sense of. But within the kingdom they are being read as meaning just one thing: that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) has his eyes firmly on the ultimate prize of taking over from his father and whatever needs to be done to ease his path will be done.

Among the third-generation princes to watch, deputy prime minister and Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz’s eldest son, Prince Saud Bin Nayef, is an assistant to his father, having spent many years as ambassador to Spain (appointed 2003), following a ten-year stint as deputy governor of Eastern Province under Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd (GSN 736/5). In July 2011, he was called home (GSN 904/3).

Saudi Arabia is leading a fresh effort from the Gulf to assert its regional influence in an attempt to bring the Gaza war to an end, there has been no indication that Israel would consider reducing the intensity of its relentless bombing campaign as it seeks vengeance for the brutal Hamas assault of 7 October.

Just days after his visit to Russia (see page 4), Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) flew to Paris for an official visit during which a number of agreements were signed – including a $470m Saudi purchase of Airbus helicopters, and confirmation that Saudi Arabian Airlines is to take delivery of 50 Airbus planes in a deal worth around $8bn. MBS has been travelling quite a lot in recent months as he finds his feet in top-tier politics, attending the United States-Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit at Camp David in May, going to Qatar in June and holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 18 June.

The appointment of Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman (ABS) to replace Khalid Al-Falih brings to the Ministry of Energy one of its most seasoned officials in the top job he was never expected to get. Very well-liked by the specialist energy press as one of the most engaging senior oil officials to engage with the industry at Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministerial meetings and other encounters over decades – reflected in his handling of the mid- September Opec/Opec+ meetings in Vienna – ABS is undoubtedly an industry expert.

Khalid Bin Salman has been named chairman of the fast-growing state defence industry conglomerate in a reshuffle that reduced the size of Saudi Arabian Military Industries’ board to eight, while bringing in three new well-connected directors

Who were the main attendees at Saudi deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman’s virtual meeting with Chinese national defence minister General Wei Fenghe? GSN runs the names, and explains their significance.