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A normalisation deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia appears to be closer than ever – even though most commentators had long assumed it could not happen while King Salman Bin Abdelaziz was alive. Riyadh seems intent on extracting far more concessions in any deal than the UAE or Bahrain managed with their Abraham Accords, but it remains to be seen if all sides will be able to find a workable compromise.

Global and regional powers have drawn up a series of plans to develop new trade corridors through Gulf countries over recent years, with the latest emerging at the G20 summit in India which will pass through the UAE, Saudi Arabia and on to Jordan and Israel. The ambitious plan could take decades to realise and will face competition from rival schemes backed by Iran, Iraq, Russia and Turkey. 

Bahrain's General Sports Authority chairman Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia mid-September. 

Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah travelled to China from 20-24 September, for the start of the 19th Asian Games. Among those in his delegation were foreign affairs minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and oil minister Saad Al-Barrak.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mana Bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum has been named chairman of UAE-based decarbonisation company Zero Carbon after investing in the company’s $5m seed financing round.

Baghdad claims to have disarmed and moved Iranian Kurdish exiles from the border area with Iran, but the reality is that compliance has been more limited, meaning further Iranian military strikes on the area are a distinct possibility.

Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al-Qasimi visited Muscat for a two-day official visit – the second Emirati ruler to make the journey in recent months, following a visit by Ras Al-Khaimah Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi in June.

Iran and Djibouti have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations that were severed by the African country in 2016 following the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The decision follows the recent rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

A meeting of the Unesco World Heritage Committee, held in Riyadh, caused a diplomatic stir when it voted to include the pre-historic site of Tell Es Sultan near Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine. Israel objected to the decision. 

Conservative tribal and Islamist voices are increasing their power and influence in the Kuwaiti political arena, with the government providing tacit support to their growing dominance over liberal and urban merchant figures.

Fresh fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in September has left Azerbaijan empowered and it could now try to realise long-held ambitions to create a land route through Armenia to its Nakhichevan exclave. For Iran, this could mean a de facto end to its own border with Armenia and a sometimes-hostile neighbour stretching across its northwest frontier.

An inquiry into alleged corruption at the European Parliament involving Qatari cash and other gifts has been delayed after a Belgian court ruled that an investigation should first be carried out into the way prosecutors handled the case. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry have reportedly developed a network of academics and foreign policy advisers in the west who worked for high-profile thinktanks and as aides to senior United States officials.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan was named chairman of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court , in an emiri decree issued by Abu Dhabi Ruler and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ). 

Emirati Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al-Maktoum was named president of a new medical education body named after his late father, a veteran finance minister who died in 2021.