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The 11 January assassination of nuclear procurement expert Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan is the latest string of killings targeting scientists involved in Iran’s nuclear sector
British defence company BAE Systems has confirmed it is in negotiations with Oman to supply Typhoon fighter aircraft – something GSN has been writing about since 2008 (GSN 841/7, GSN 874/1).
Amid all the talk of war on Iran, it is worth noting that Israeli deputy foreign minister Daniel Ayalon took the time last week to distance his country from any notion of imminent conflict.
Whether or not Tehran is bluffing, its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has gained enough amplitude for western powers to prepare contingency plans, according to industry sources
In the wake of the 18 December US troop withdrawal, 2012 opened with the deadliest bombings for more than a year, killing scores of people in and around predominantly Shia targets in Baghdad and the Al Nasiriyah region.
On 30 December 2011, the US Defence Department announced that the UAE would be allowed to purchase Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile interceptor systems
The ‘jewel in the crown’ of the emirate’s development projects will not be delivered on time, causing observers to wonder if security – as well as economic – concerns could also be at play
The Obama administration is cultivating defence ties with GCC states, continuing major arms sales initiated under George W Bush and stepping up military exercises in the region
Asaib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous – AAH) is an Iraqi Shia militant movement formed in 2006 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force with the help of Lebanese Hizbollah trainers.
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
The Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) will build around the following bases:
Despite huge efforts to advance the capability of the Iraqi Air Force, it will be at least four years before an initial 18 F-16s will be operational, leaving Iraq exposed to Iran in the east and, more significantly, Israel in the west
As the UAE builds defence capabilities and US backing helps the region stand up to the Iranian threat, the possibility of an Emirati gambit in the Abu Musa and Tunb islands seems more credible
Among a host of valuable bases in the UAE are:
In the wake of the revelation of a plot to kill Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel Al-Jubeir, blamed on the Iranian Quds Force, there has been a marked escalation of rhetoric against Tehran, which reached fever-pitch ahead of the release of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s report on 8 November.
