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Iran officially welcomed Syria’s return to the League of Arab States, but the eagerness with which Damascus is accepting the renewed Arab hospitality may be a cause for concern in Tehran, which has been one of the Assad regime’s few consistent supporters throughout the civil war.

The issue leads with an analysis of the efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to bring the Syrian regime back into the Arab League. It highlights how even states which object to the rehabilitation of Damascus will not be opposing Syria's readmission, thanks to diplomatic pressure from Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.   The Politics section looks into the divisions within Yemen's anti-Houthi alliance, amid fears of secession by southern groups.   This issue also has a map of Yemen, which shows the balance of forces, as well as the key ports, and oil and gas locations in the war-torn country.   The Defence and Security section sheds light on Russian bids to acquire Iranian speed boats, adding to the list of military hardware that Tehran is providing Moscow with, which is used in the war in Ukraine. The section also reports on the UAE's decision to cancel an order for 12 Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters for financial and technical reasons.   Royals Watch reports on how the Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance Company (QGIRC) is seeking compensation from former chairman Sheikh Nasser Bin Ali Bin Saud Al-Than "for his responsibility for the mistakes he made" while in charge of the business.     This issue's View article showcases the problem of voter fatigue in Kuwait, where Kuwaitis will go to the polls again in June, for the third National Assembly election in as many years.   The two Risk Management Reports are on the UAE.  

MBC Group Holdings, a British Virgin Islands-registered company connected to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ibrahim family, has submitted a petition to a Cayman Islands court to wind up its partnership with a son of Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz. The move offers an insight into how lucrative deals were awarded in the later years of Abdullah’s reign and how those deals were treated when King Salman Bin Abdelaziz took over in 2015.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland and a number of its executives and employees for trying to devalue the Qatari riyal in 2017, at a time when Qatar was facing a boycott by Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and some allied countries.

The UAE has cancelled a €800m ($880m) order for 12 Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters, reportedly for financial and technical reasons including the "high lifecycle cost" of the aircraft.

Gulf officials who attended the coronation of Britain's King Charles III include Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, UAE Vice President Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Saudi Arabia's minister of state Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Fahd,  and Oman's culture, sports and youth minister Sayyid Theyazin Bin Haitham Al-Said.

Algerian foreign affairs and national community abroad minister Ahmed Attaf arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah on 15 May for bilateral talks and preparations for the planned League of Arab States summit, to be held on 19 May.

Iraq has been hosting reconciliation talks between Iranian and Egyptian officials which should lead to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations "in the near future".

Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League after more than a bloody decade on the sidelines, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE orchestrated a vote in favour ahead of a 19 May summit in Jeddah. Regional opposition to Syria hasn't disappeared, but Qatar and Kuwait decided not to stand in the way of readmission, in a further indication of Riyadh's new-found desire to flex its diplomatic muscles whatever western allies might think.

Stephen Peter Day was a committed Arabist, while also being a guardian of British national interests – positions the diplomat, who has died aged 85, saw as complementary rather than incompatible. His conflicts could be with elements of the British establishment rather than with foreign governments, groups and individuals with whom he engaged with ease.

Ratings uplift: Fitch Ratings reaffirmed its AA- sovereign credit rating but upgraded its outlook from stable to positive on 28 March, citing Qatar's strong external balance sheet, low debt/gross domestic product ratio and high fiscal surplus. Fitch said the additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity due online from the North Field’s expansion would help to reduce an already low fiscal break-even hydrocarbon price.

Several sons of former Saudi crown prince Muqrin Bin Abdelaziz attended a wedding in Jeddah in late April between a daughter of Sheikh Gharam Allah Bin Rashid Al-Zanan Al-Zahrani and a man from the Al-Gharsan. Muqrin's sons present included Princes Fahd, Faisal and Bandar.

A son of the late Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdelaziz, Prince Mohammed Bin Talal, in early May married a daughter of Dr Khaled Al-Fadal. Mohammed's brothers include businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Asir governor Prince Turki Bin Talal.

Falling unemployment: The unemployment rate for Saudi nationals fell to 8% in Q4 2022 from 9.9% in Q3 22, according to data released by the General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) in early April. The female jobless rate fell from 20.5% to 15.4% over the same period. The Medina region had the highest rate of unemployment among Saudis at 12.2%, followed by Jazan at 11%. Riyadh had the lowest level at 6.7%, with Eastern Province at 6.9% and Mecca at 7%. 

Al Jazeera Media Network said its journalist Hisham Abdelaziz was released from custody in Egypt on 1 May, after spending almost four years in pre-trial detention.