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The hand of Tehran – and its formidable IRGC – reaches far into the Gulf states, throwing up questions of allegiance and fears of a US or Israeli-orchestrated military strike. Each state has a different experience, and the region is divided over how to deal with subversive activities within and across its borders

France’s opening of its new 400-600 personnel base in Abu Dhabi marks a considerable step forward to French commitment to the UAE and wider GCC. The opening of the base on 28 May was marked by high-level French diplomatic engagement, including UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a range of other senior diplomats and military officials.

Confronted with another ratcheting up of international and regional pressure, Tehran has a number of proxy conflicts in which it can make life uncomfortable for its enemies – and President Ahmadinejad and his allies seem determined to flex their muscles over neighbouring Iraq as the US prepares for its end-year military withdrawal

Steps taken by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to increase support for the re-enlistment of southern officers suggest increased confidence in the executive. Although funds are yet to be secured for re-enlisting thousands of officers who were forced to retire, the president has made progress within government institutions which will allow those officers to be placed under his command. Sources told GSN the removal of the director of the Political Security Office (PSO), Ghaleb al-Qamish, and the interior minister, Abdel Qader Qahtan, in March created new opportunities for incorporating some of the southern officers reinstated by presidential decree in September 2013.

Farnborough International, the company that runs the biennial UK airshow, will continue to run the Bahrain International Airshow in the coming years. On 13 July, the British firm signed a contract with the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications to organise the next two editions of the Bahrain event, in 2018 and 2020.The 2016 version of the show, held in January, saw orders of more than $9bn.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has been at the forefront of efforts to unite Syria’s Kurdish parties, at a time when the latter are jostling for power in a post-Assad state

A cargo ship that vanished en route from Finland to Algeria on 24 July was carrying arms to Iran and was being tracked by the Israeli security service Mossad, according to sources in Russia and Israel quoted in UK newspaper The Sunday Times.

Navy base expansion, Calls for security agreements with Iran, Waha Capital raises funds for military, Rifles order,

A flurry of diplomatic missions to Algiers during November emphasised the strengthening trade and investment bonds within the Middle East and North Africa region: defence deals were on the agenda.

Another major shift in the geopolitics and military direction of the Syrian conflict seemed to have been recorded when, on 16 August, Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and Su-34 strike fighters used the Shahid Nojeh airbase, 50km north of Hamedan in western Iran, to hit Islamic State (IS or Daesh) and Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusra) arms depots, command posts and training camps in Aleppo, Deir Ez-Zor and Idlib provinces. It was the first time Iran had allowed another country’s forces to use it as a base for military operations since the 1979 revolution and emphasised President Vladimir Putin’s growing domination of the regional agenda.

Committed to Israel, worried about Iran and with huge business interests at stake, the US can’t just pull out of the Middle East as many Americans would like. But strategic shifts apparent for several years will be accelerated as the superpower rethinks its political and commercial alignments.

The United States Department of State has approved close to $9.5bn-worth of military sales to its Gulf allies, including $7bn-worth of helicopters to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Forty-eight Chinook CH-47F cargo helicopters will be sold to Saudi Arabia, along with related training, support and equipment such as engines and machine guns. The total value of the package is $3.51bn. The helicopters will be used by the Royal Saudi Land Forces’ aviation command.

Baghdad is close to finalising the purchase of a $2.5bn surface-to-air missile (SAM) system from China, the local Mawazin news agency, reported citing “informed sources”. The HQ-9/FD-2000 long-range system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation will be paid for in three instalments of $833m, starting in 2017. The Chinese missile system is thought to be based on the Russian S-300 system, which is now in place in Iran. Missile defences are becoming a key issue in the region, where Iran has a fast-growing ballistic missile arsenal.

Amid serious sectarian unrest and growing suspicion of Tehran, the ruling monarchy is enlisting foreign assistance in a carefully orchestrated clampdown on the opposition.

In a deal as important for the European defence industry as it is for Gulf security, Kuwait has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy 28 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, in a deal understood to be worth up to $9bn. The jets are manufactured by a consortium of Italy’s Finmeccanica, BAE Systems and Airbus Group. The Kuwait Air Force is expected to receive new-build, third-tranche, swing-role versions of the Typhoon; the planes will have electronic-scanned radar and a weapons package.