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Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad held talks with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, and dined with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Saad Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah during a 18-19 August visit to the Emirate. Syria has been
The Royal Saudi Air Force is mulling new procurement contracts, but Saudi Arabia remains dependent on the U.S.A. to keep flying.
Mohammad Khatami is expected to announce Iran’s new government soon after his 5 August investiture as a second term President. Accelerated reforms are needed if his Presidency is to succeed, which may mean doing deals with conservatives while taking a harder line on those trying to bring
The U.N. Security Council failed to meet its target date for “smart sanctions” in Iraq. GSN reports on the latest manoeuvres and examines Baghdad s suspension of oil exports.
A possible resolution of the maritime border between Kuwait and Iran could open up the offshore Dorrah gas field, but other Kuwaiti oil sector projects are moving slowly.
Across The Region, News, Data & Analysis: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen
Iran’s use of up to 66 surface-to-surface missiles (S.S.M.) against Mojaheddin -e Khalq (M.K.O.) bases in Iraq has dramatically underscored the escalation of a proxy war that has been brewing for the past year. While the M.K.O. has typically launched about 25 operations a year, including cross-border infiltrations and actions using its extensive network of agents within Iran, it is estimated to have engaged in over 200 actions since the Iranian New Year began in March 2000.
U.A.E.-based traders have seen smuggling traffic through Afghanistan into Iran and other regional markets drastically eroded by international sanctions against the Taliban regime. A GSN investigation shows that an illegal trade previously focused on Afghanistan is being redirected into Pakistan and Iran.
Crown Prince Abdallah’s “vision” of leadership is underlined by Saudi Arabia’s ground-breaking security agreement with Iran, expected to be signed as GSN went to press. Policies that accommodate regional rivals, as well as domestic Islamist and populist pressures, are central to Abdallah’s policy mix.
Command and control systems are the first priority as G.C.C. countries begin to develop a more integrated common approach to defence. GSN interviewed senior officials about trends.
Three people were killed when Saudi special forces freed more than 100 passengers from a Russian airliner hijacked to Medina airport, as GSN went to press. The 16 March rescue was a success for the security services, but the episode underlined some of the problems that confront the Saudi authorities in their stewardship of the land that houses Islam’s holiest places.
The pace of Bahrain’s political liberalisation has surprised even the sceptics, and showed the extent to which conservative Gulf monarchies can remake their social compacts with their populations if the will is there.
Osama Bin Laden is the central target of a new anti-terrorist initiative being prepared by the U.S.. Tackling the roots of violence will be left for late.
Iraq is imposing a 10 percent “after sale” surcharge on companies supplying goods under the U.N.- approved oil-for-food programme, GSN reveals. This generates extra funds for a government also asking
