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Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nedaja) forces took control of the Marshall Islands-registered tanker Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman late April, while it was sailing from Kuwait to Houston, Texas.

Iran - which has substantial ammunition production capability as a legacy of its 1980-88 war with Iraq - is reportedly sending ammunition to Russia across the Caspian Sea for use in its Ukraine war.

A Yemen Coast Guard officer was killed in an exchange of fire with private security guards on the luxury yacht Kalizma off the coast of Al-Mahra governorate late April. A guard on the Cook Islands-flagged Kalizma was also wounded.

An unnamed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) air defence commander has been sentenced by a Tehran military court to 13 years in prison for their role in the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran in January 2018.

The Meraj-532 is the first Iranian drone known to be launched from a speeding vehicle, which means it does not need a rocket booster system for take-off. The weight saved appears to have been traded in for a larger warhead.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani reshuffled the country’s security establishment in a series of decrees and orders, naming his brother and interior minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani as commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya).

Construction work is underway on a 2,400-metre runway on Abd Al-Kuri, the westernmost island in Yemen's Socotra archipelago, according to recent satellite imagery. Local press reports have said the UAE is behind the project, but there has been no official confirmation of its involvement.

A leak of top secret US intelligence reports included allegations that UAE intelligence agents have been cooperating with their Russian counterparts to act against western interests. Abu Dhabi has denied there is any substance to these allegations, but they have come at a time of heightened concern in Washington about commercial and military ties between the UAE and Moscow.

There is hope of peace in Yemen, but a breakthrough between Houthi rebels and Riyadh remains just out of reach, despite extensive talks in Sanaa, where ambassador Mohammed Al-Jaber made the first senior Saudi visit since 2015. However, further talks are due to be held in May, against the backdrop of improving Saudi-Iran relations and a wider regional trend favouring diplomacy over conflict.

The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) are to continue operating their joint Typhoon squadron for a further two years, based at RAF Coningsby in the UK.

Russian and Chinese vessels joined their Iranian counterparts in a naval exercise off Chah Bahar in the Gulf of Oman in mid-March. After two days of air defence and anti-hijacking drills, the exercise concluded with a fleet review on 19 March.

The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) took delivery of the first of its Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighter jets in March, becoming the first in the Gulf to add the aircraft to its fleet.

The United States Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) held the 18-day International Maritime Exercise 23 (IMX23) in late February and early March, with an opening ceremony for the operational phase held at US 5th Fleet’s headquarters in Bahrain.

Iran has unveiled a new cruise missile, named the Paveh, which, with a claimed range of 1,650km, could easily reach Israel.

The 86th Flotilla of the Iranian Navy (Nejada) docked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil late February for a week-long port visit, having apparently bypassed the Panama Canal by taking a 7,000 nautical mile detour around South America instead. It is unclear where the flotilla is heading for next.