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A five-day ceasefire ended on 17 May and was followed by renewed Saudi airstrikes. The United Nations had appealed for the truce to be extended to allow time for urgently needed humanitarian access, but the Yemeni government in Riyadh and the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen blamed each other for the resumption of hostilities. According to Reuters, Saudi warplanes carried out the most sustained bombardment of Sanaa in nearly two months of strikes on 19 May, hitting army bases and weapons depots.

US military training to Gulf countries fell in 2015 after three straight years of growth. Analysts said this may offer a foretaste of what might be to come under the administration of President Donald Trump, which has vowed to cut Washington’s foreign aid bill – although military training has benefits, and proponents within the administration, which might mean it escapes any cuts.According to the Security Assistance Monitor (SAM), part of Washington-based think-tank the Center for International Policy, the US provided training to 4,136 Gulf military personnel in 2015, down from 4,748 the year before.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Irin) and the more recently created Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) are developing capabilities that increase their threat to shipping and other targets in the Gulf, Caspian Sea and Gulf of Oman, according to research presented by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Qatar has gained approval from the United States to buy a further 24 AH-64E Apache Attack helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3bn. The package includes 2,500 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, 28 M230 30mm automatic chain guns, M230 automatic guns, 52 T700-GE-701D engines (allowing for two per aircraft and four spares), target acquisition and designation sights, pilot night vision sensors and fire control radars.

A new domestically-produced frigate has joined the Navy of Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Nedaja) fleet. The Mowj (Wave)-class ship is the latest iteration of the Alvand-class frigates Iran received from the UK in the 1960s. Speaking at the Sahand vessel’s inauguration on 1 December, Admiral Alireza Sheikhi said it was equipped with stealth technology and had updated weapons systems and a greater operational range than the existing Mowj-class frigate, the Jamaran.

Qatar Armed Forces has signed a contract with Italian company Finmeccanica – Selex ES for the supply of a network of Kronos radars and associated command and control centres. The contract, which Finmeccanica said was worth “hundreds of millions of euros”, was signed at a meeting in Doha between Qatari defence minister General Hamad Bin Ali Al-Attiyah and his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti on 26 July, according to QNA.

One of the more bizarre arguments put forward by the Obama administration as it pushed for military intervention in Syria was that failing to respond to the horrific chemical attack on Ghouta would send the wrong ‘message’ to Iran. On 3 September, secretary of state John Kerry mentioned Iran four times in his brief opening statement to members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as he sought to convince them of the need to strike. “Iran is hoping you look the other way,” Kerry said. “Our inaction would surely give them a permission slip for them to at least misinterpret our intention if not to put it to the test.” Defence secretary Chuck Hagel took a similar tone. “Our refusal to act would undermine the credibility of America’s other security commitments, including the president’s commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” he said.

The ever closer defence and security relationship with the United States was underlined during a visit to Washington of the strategy’s architect Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) and the signing on 8 May of a Defence Co-operation Agreement (DCA).The State Department has also announced approval of a request for the UAE to buy $2bn-worth of Patriot missiles from Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Interior minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Saud Bin Nayef has announced the creation of a new paramilitary anti-smuggling unit, based in Najran and trained to operate in the mountainous provinces of Jizan, Asir and Najran. The Al-Afwaj Regiment will operate under the control of the Ministry of Interior and in support of frontline Saudi Border Patrol units.

Iran appears to be ramping up its campaign to convince western observers of its new level of air defence amid growing fears that a military strike – most likely from Israel – is not far off

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) efforts to expand an already formidable arsenal of high-tech weaponry stepped up a notch in 2014 when, according to a study by respected defence specialist IHS Jane’s, Saudi Arabia overtook India to become the world’s largest importer of weapons and defence systems. Riyadh spent $6.4bn on defence imports in 2014, 54% more than the previous year, and more than all the other GCC states combined. According to the IHS Jane’s report published on 8 March, the UAE spent $2.2bn on defence imports in 2014, Oman and Kuwait each spent $1.1bn, and Qatar and Bahrain spent $573m and $73m respectively.

Further violence has been reported as tension persists in parts of Eastern Province following the execution of dissident cleric Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr. Masked men threw firebombs at an intelligence service compound in Qatif, Reuters reported activists saying on 11 January. A Ministry of Interior spokesman said, “there was a failed terrorist attempt to burn the building with Molotov cocktails”, and one of the assailants was captured.

Kuwait has asked the US government for clearance to buy a series of radar systems, including six short-range and one long-range radar, plus training and support. The $194m deal will improve early warning for fixed and rotary wing aircraft along the northern and eastern borders. Three companies are competing for the contract: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Raytheon Company.

Saudi Arabia is to host the Gulf Co-operation Council’s Unified Military Command Headquarters, in the latest sign that, despite their differences, GCC members are taking some steps to develop greater security co-operation. Foreign affairs minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah signed an agreement with outgoing GCC secretary-general Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani on 22 December for Saudi Arabia to act as the host country.

The Damavand destroyer sank on 28 January, 18 days after it had crashed in heavy seas into a concrete breakwater, close to the entrance to the Caspian Sea port of Bandar-e Anzali.