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In a stunning setback to the clerical establishment, underdog Mohammad Khatami, 52, won a landslide victory in the 23 May presidential elections. Khatami took 69% of the 29.1 million votes cast. Although he will be tightly constrained by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei who will set the policy framework, the new president promises to introduce a more liberal social climate and possibly also a more flexible foreign policy.

The new Yemeni government formed after the parliamentary elections has yet to elaborate its foreign policy programme. The dominance of the General People's Congress (GPC) however means that Saleh's foreign minister, Abd al Karim al Iryani, will continue to pursue the policies he outlined in the months before the election. It is therefore useful to look at Iryani's worldview, as outlined in an interview given to at Quds al Arabi earlier this year.

When President Bill Clinton was re-elected to office there was a flurry of speculation about possible changes in America's Gulf policy. The departure of Warren Christopher as Secretary of State suggested less of a knee jerk opposition to Islamic Iran while Clinton's strengthened position suggested that he may be able to formulate a more imaginative policy on Iraq.

Harzan Ibrahim al Tikriti, Saddam Hussein's half brother, has for many years been Iraq's representative at the UN in Geneva. Although a former head of the intelligence service and reputed to control the regime's foreign bank accounts, he is regarded by many in the Arab world and the West as an acceptable alternative to Saddam. At the very least, his post in Geneva enables him to understand the outside world better than Saddam in his Baghdad bunker. It is thus not surprising that Barzan has emerged as a potential agent of reform in Iraq. Nonetheless, he is probably too closely associated with the current regime to lead real reform.

The UAE's long-awaited government reshuffle saw a significant shake up in key technocratic posts but, unsurprisingly, no change in the "power ministries." The cabinet shake up, announced at the end of March, saw the installation of eight new ministers in the 21 member cabinet under Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid.

The UAE's long-awaited government reshuffle saw a significant shake up in key technocratic posts but, unsurprisingly, no change in the "power ministries." The cabinet shake up, announced at the end of March, saw the installation of eight new ministers in the 21 member cabinet under Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati is in the midst of an extensive tour of the Arab world as Iran steps up its diplomatic offensive to garner international support in the face of growing concern that the US and Iran may yet come to blows. Velayati is visiting a series of Muslim countries in an attempt to use next December's Summit of the Islamic Conference Organisation (lCO) in Tehran as a mechanism for improving its standing in the region.

Saudi Defence and Aviation Minister Prince Sultan's visit to Washington at the end of February provided an opportunity to assess the state of US-Saudi relations, strained of late due to disputes over the hunt for the al Khobar bombers.

Tehran's charm offensive towards the GCC states was stepped up a notch when President Rafsanjani extended an invitation to GCC rulers to visit Iran during a press conference marking the 18th anniversary of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. The Iranian leader however maintained a tough stance vis a vis the US, displaying no willingness to back down on key issues.

The new US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has had a quick lesson on the sensitivities of the American-Saudi relationship. In the wake of blunt criticisms made by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the Kingdom's investigation of the al Khobar bombing, Albright rushed to soothe ruffled feathers both in Riyadh and Washington.

Arab eyes turned to Sudan in January as opposition factions launched major military offensives in the south and east of the country. Aware of the geostrategic importance of the Red Sea coastline and the Horn of Africa, regional governments reacted with alarm. Egypt is the most affected due to its reliance on the water resources of the Upper Nile but Saudi Arabia and Iran may be drawn in as Khartoum appealed for military help against "foreign aggression.

Operation Provide Comfort, which came to an end on 31 December 1996, was established in 1991 in response to the mass exodus of Kurdish refugees from northern Iraq but it never provided much comfort to the Kurds whom it was supposed to benefit. Although humanitarian aid was air dropped in early 1991, since then the American- British-French force has had little more than a surveillance and deterrent role.

The 17th GCC Summit, which ended in Doha on 9 December, produced few surprises although it was preceded by dramatic developments. Intense mediation efforts had failed to persuade Bahrain to attend while, paradoxically, Yemen submitted a formal application to join. These two "non-events," much touted in advance of the summit, were of more significance than other policy issues on which there was little change.

Could there be a reconciliation between the GCC states, the US and Iran? In recent weeks Iran has hinted at this possibility and the ongoing debate in Washington over "Dual Containment" suggests that a more nuanced American policy may emerge. We can however only be cautiously optimistic. In both Washington and Tehran there are many who remain bitterly opposed to any change and the aims of the two sides remain diametrically opposed.

The US elections have proceeded smoothly to their anticipated outcome. Clinton has been returned to the White House and the Republicans control both houses of Congress. The scramble for top posts in the Administration has begun. Many of the top foreign affairs jobs are to change - Secretary of State, Secretary of Defence, Director of Central Intelligence, National Security Adviser, Ambassador to the UN. But what will this mean for the Gulf region states?