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The head of intelligence of Iran’s IRGC Hossein Taeb has been replaced after 13 years in post, with counter-intelligence chief Brigadier General Mohammad Kazzemi taking over. The change comes after a series of mysterious deaths of IRGC personnel and a recent drone attack on a military site near Tehran.

A 60-day extension to the truce between the Houthis and Yemeni government-aligned forces offers some hope that a resolution of the region’s most destructive conflict may be getting closer, but kidnappings and attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) point to another threat to stability in the south, which could yet drag the United States and others back into the crisis zone.

UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan made a low-profile official visit to London, which ended on 13 June. It included meetings with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UK national security adviser Stephen Lovegrove and business executives.

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nejada) commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has said Iranian shipping faces increased piracy risks in the Red Sea. Nejada has maintained a continuous at-sea presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since 2008, usually consisting of a frigate and one of its two Bandar Abbas class light replenishment oilers, sometimes supplemented by a third ship. 

Saudi King Salman appointed Ahmed Al-Issa as director-general of the General Directorate of Investigation (Mabahith), part of the Presidency of State Security (PSS), in a series of security-related appointments.

British prosecutors have accused two former defence industry executives of orchestrating the payment of millions of pounds of bribes in Saudi Arabia, some of which went to Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah.

The US Navy has set up a new multinational task force to patrol the seas around Yemen and nearby areas. The task force will have a presence in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden.

The mid-2021 revelations about widespread use of the Pegasus spyware platform, developed by well-connected Israeli company NSO Group, have been followed by claims that Bahrain continues to hack the electronic devices of key opposition and other figures.

A consignment of 52 Iranian-made Dehlavieh anti-tank missiles has been intercepted at the Al-Mazyunah border crossing between Oman and Yemen. The missiles were hidden in a consignment of four electrical generators, which had been rigged to appear fully operational should they have been test-run at the border.

A BBC report citing Israeli intelligence’s allegedly widespread recruitment of high-ranking Iranian officers points to one possible cause of a series of security failures in recent years. As well as alleged Israeli penetration, enemy action and internal disloyalty have contributed to security problems that have dogged Iran – in turn having a disruptive impact on security, scientific and other institutions, a GSN analyst concludes.

A multi-billion dollar US scheme which has provided training to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (Sang) since the 1970s is being scaled back. The reasons for the change are unclear.

A series of missile and drone attacks on the UAE killed two people but unnerved many more local residents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as international allies. The strikes carried a clear political message, coming as the South Korean and Israeli presidents were visiting Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi. The UAE has been quick to react by bombing Houthi missile launch sites in Yemen, but it is clear that Abu Dhabi’s efforts to distance itself from the conflict over the past three years have not succeeded.

Saudi Arabian National Guard (Sang) minister Prince Abdullah Bin Bandar inaugurated the $560m National Guard Air Base at Dirab, south of Riyadh, on 17 January.

Foreign security officials poured into Doha in late January to attend two events hosted by Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, celebrating graduation ceremonies at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) Police College and Al-Zaeem Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Attiyah Air College.

Abdullah Al-Owais has been given a senior role in the powerful Presidency of State Security. GSN reports on the move and spotlights key officials in the PSS hierarchy