Search results

The Iranian parliament voted to impeach industry, mine and trade minister Reza Fatemi Amin late April, a few weeks after education minister Yousef Nouri had resigned.

Omani officials are working on reforms to the welfare system and drawing up measures to encourage more private sector activity, in plans that offer further evidence of Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said’s efforts to move the economy away from state paternalism.

Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) has appointed his son Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed as second deputy ruler of the emirate, while also naming existing deputy Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed as first deputy ruler.

The Islamic Republic has largely suppressed the wave of protests that emerged in September after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, but the opaque political system remains under pressure, both from the Iranian public and from signs of internal division. The tensions point to a period of uncertainty ahead of the eventual succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene.

The outbreak of fighting between rival generals in Sudan in mid-April has been met with an increasingly active diplomatic stance by Saudi Arabia, which has taken a clear lead among Gulf countries in responding to the crisis  – offering further evidence of the new approach being taken to international relations by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).

National security advisor, Supreme Defence Council secretary-general and Royal Guard commander Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa was promoted from major general to the rank of lieutenant general in an order by his father King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa on 30 April.

The Saudi authorities have launched a new anti-drugs campaign, amid continued concern about the use of narcotics, in particular fenethylline hydrochloride, an amphetamine better known by the brand name Captagon, which is being smuggled in large quantities into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah formally dissolved the National Assembly (parliament) via decree on 1 May, setting in motion the move towards another general election.

The High Court in London has issued a summary judgement against Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz in his dispute with Credit Suisse over a loan for his yacht Sarafsa. Mr Justice Bright ruled in favour of the Swiss bank on 31 March and set out his reasoning in a full statement on 5 April, saying the prince had no real prospect of succeeding in defending his position if the case went to trial.

The attack on Iranian Assembly of Experts (Majles-e Khobregân-e Rahbari) member Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani Esbukolai late April brought to the fore the question of who might lead Iran in the future.

The Geneva meetings of Yemen's Houthi rebels and representatives of the internationally-recognised government led to the first prisoner exchange between the two sides since 2022. The exchange involved a total of 887 prisoners, with 181 released by the Houthis and 706 freed by the government or the Saudi-led coalition.

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.

Kuwait's political turmoil has continued in the wake of the shock Constitutional Court ruling on 19 March that annulled last year's general election and reinstated the previous parliament. In a bid to move the situation forward, Crown Prince Mishaal has dissolved the newly-returned chamber and set the scene for yet another poll. The new cabinet announced in early April is likely to be in post for only a couple of months.

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.

In Kuwait, the court’s willingness to hold members of its ruling family to account has been revived, with a ten-year prison sentence handed to Sheikh Sabah Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, son of the former premier Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, for his role in a $1bn corruption case.