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Long associated with Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Hamas, Qatar has insisted that it has not ordered the Palestinian militant group to close its Doha office – a key point of contact in Qatar’s now-suspended mediation efforts to end the Gaza conflict – but the Hamas leadership is no longer in the country and is said to be sizing up alternative bases around the region including Türkiye.

The days of Ankara focusing its attention in the GCC solely on Qatar are now firmly in the past, as recent agreements point to Türkiye steadily growing its military and commercial links with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, as well as with Doha.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa has taken over as transport and telecoms minister from Mohammed Al-Kaabi, while the social development file has passed from Osama Al-Asfoor to Osama Al-Alawi, in a small reshuffle of the Bahraini cabinet.

The new UAE Aid Agency will take charge of the UAE’s international disaster relief activities, a role until now filled by the Emirates Red Crescent. The latter has become embroiled in allegations that the UAE has used a relief effort on the Chad-Sudan border as cover to funnel weapons to one of the main combatants in the Sudanese civil war.

Sheikh Mubarak Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was appointed by emiri decree on 13 November, some three months after the previous post-holder, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabeh, died. He is only the second person to take charge of the force since it was established in the 1960s.

Sheikh Theyab, son of UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has taken on a number of other roles in the international aid sector over the past year, including chairman of the International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council set up in January.

Iranian officials have revived the idea of building a tunnel under the Gulf to Qatar – an idea that previously suggested in 2022. The megaproject would require a tunnel with an underwater section of at least 185km – almost five times further than the current longest submarine tunnel in the world. Officials are due to hold discussions in Doha in the coming weeks, but the limited levels of bilateral trade mean the megaprojects is unlikely to make economic sense.

The eighth government reshuffle under Emir Tamim Al-Thani sees minister of state for defence affairs Khalid Al-Attiyah ending his long government career. There have also been changes in the leadership of the Emiri Diwan, the Qatar Investment Authority and the State Security Agency. GSN takes a closer look at the changes.

Since the early summer there have been several meetings between senior Abu Dhabi and Qatari officials, reflecting their shared foreign policy concerns and increased economic co-operation. But the UAE seems to view the rapprochement more favourably.

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa has emphasised the need to continue pursuing the government’s Economic Vision 2030. At the recent inauguration of the third session of the sixth legislative term of the Shura Council and the Council of Representatives he told the assembled parliamentarians that work should also be “accelerated on its next version for the year 2050.” On the regional front, Bahrain has been continuing to try and improve relations with Tehran. King Hamad hosting Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi for talks at Al-Sakhir Palace on 21 October.

Gulf rulers welcomed a familiar, if neither always firm nor predictable friend’s victory over the widely mistrusted Biden administration to regain the White House. Plenty of questions remain about what a second Trump term might mean for the Gulf economies and for regional security, and the ‘transactional’ populist’s impulsive approach to policy means it is unlikely to be a smooth ride even for his allies. Trump II could further accelerate trends apparent in recent years, of Gulf states pivoting towards Asia and making ever more assertive expressions of national interest, if still under an American defensive umbrella.

After taking office in December 2023, Sheikh Mishaal Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah promised significant reforms to shake up Kuwait’s political and economic systems, but the emir has made little apparent impact during his first year in power, other than suspending parliament and clamping down on critics.

Tehran has launched a housing development on Abu Musa and floated plans for tourism developments on the island, which is part of a trio of islands controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE. On nearby Greater Tunb, a power plant has also been brought back online after a four-year hiatus.

Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani was elected speaker of Iraq’s Council of Representatives in late October, almost a year after his predecessor was removed by the courts. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani has had to reshuffle several cabinet posts and is faced with a potentially explosive wiretapping scandal.

Qataris went to the ballot box on 5 November to partake in a referendum which would end future elections to the Shura Council and instead give the emir the power to appoint all members of the chamber. Interior minister and General Referendum Committee chairman Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani announced the following day that turnout had been 84% of eligible citizens, with 89% voting in favour of the constitutional amendments, 9.2% voting against and 1.8% of the votes deemed invalid.