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The failure of Yemen’s warring parties to renew their truce in October is regarded by many observers as a sign of both the increasing strength of the Houthi rebel group and a failure of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) to resolve its own internal differences.

International pressure is growing over Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen, where civilian – and medical – targets are regularly hit in missions intended to attack Houthi positions. The issue is gaining greater traction among mainstream western politicians – and, more quietly, in several Arab capitals, including Gulf Co-operation Council member Muscat – as well as from Amnesty International and other advocacy groups, who have been lobbying on the issue for many months. However, signs are that Riyadh will carry on regardless as long as key allies like the United States and United Kingdom stay onside.

It is not just through trade and financial controls that the United States and its allies are gradually encircling Iran in an effort to throttle the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions. And the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states are playing a larger role in this process than seemed likely earlier this decade, when Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz led a move towards rapprochement with Tehran. Thus, according to GSN’s contacts in the

In the past few weeks Iran has unveiled a new missile defence system, a turbojet engine and a fast patrol boat, underlining how the Islamic Republic has been able to build up its military industry through the years of sanctions. The equipment may not be at the cutting edge, but it is still far ahead of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). Fearful of the future for its own Western supply lines (see Defence and security), Riyadh has ambitions to create its own domestic industry.

The latest report by the Panel of Experts on Yemen to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), released in late January, has highlighted how all parties to the conflict are guilty of economic profiteering which, alongside the fighting and human rights violations, is exacerbating the country’s dire situation. The UN Panel offered more details on the strength of the Houthi-Iran relationship, as well as corruption within the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and violations of UNSC resolutions by the Southern Transition Council (STC).