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Revised February 2024, this map of the Gulf illustrates military infrastructure across the region.  The locations of various military bases are displayed alongside each country's military spending and numbers of various military personnel.  The map is available as a PDF file using eps graphics, meaning that there is no loss of resolution as the file is enlarged.

Growth in defence spending by Gulf Co-operation Council countries slowed significantly in 2023, but heightened tensions as a result of the Gaza war could prompt another acceleration in military outlays this year.

Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah travelled to Bahrain and Qatar in mid-February, following trips to Saudi Arabia and Oman earlier in the year. Mishaal has been using the trips to cement regional support for border disputes with Iraq and Iran – although there are signs that Doha is slightly less steadfast than some others over the Iran dispute.

After Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah took exception to comments by a member of parliament about his inaugural speech as ruler in December, the emir issued a decree on 15 February to disband the National Assembly – meaning a fresh general election must be held by mid-April.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mid-February tour of the UAE and Qatar followed the signing of big energy supply deals and the release of former Indian naval officers sentenced to death in Doha for spying.

The IRGC Navy has launched long-range ballistic missiles from one of its ships for the first time, as it continues to flex its muscle in the face of heightened tensions with the United States, but an Iranian spy ship that was thought to have been working closely with Yemen’s Houthis appears to have been sidelined after a US cyberattack.

The Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund has been signing contracts with more lobbying and communications specialists, as it continues to face political scrutiny over its investments in the United States.

Bahrain has set up diplomatic relations with Vanuatu and Qatar with Tonga in a continuation of the trend for Gulf states to expand their diplomatic and development ties with small Pacific Island nations.

Hassan Al-Shehi has presented his credentials, to become the first UAE ambassador in Damascus since 2011, adding further to a bilateral relationship that seemed broken when Abu Dhabi supported opposition groups in the Syrian civil war’s early years.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is setting up a joint venture with BP focused on natural gas exploration and production in Egypt.

Alpha Dhabi reported a 25% rise in profits in 2023, alongside a 14% increase in revenues, as the investment firm owned by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s International Holding Company announced multi-billion-dinar joint venture deals with Adnoc Drilling and Mubadala.

A trade deal between the UAE and Cambodia came into force in early February, just weeks after negotiations were finalised for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Costa Rica, as more of Abu Dhabi’s preferred Cepa deals are unrolled.

A cargo aircraft that once belonged to Iran’s Mahan Air has been flown to Florida, two years after being impounded in Buenos Aires following a US court ruling.

Four Emirati soldiers and one Bahraini officer were killed in an attack on a military base in Mogadishu on 10 February. They had been training the Somali Armed Forces.

The issue leads with the impact of the four-month-old Gaza conflict between Hamas and Israel, which is steadily spreading around the region, bringing fresh instability to Iraq where the US and Iran-backed militia are engaging in an escalating series of strikes and counter-strikes. GSN examines the Iranian elite, including power-brokers linked to Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, supported by an initial batch of profiles and an influence chart showing how they are connected. Politics coverage includes a focus on Kuwait, where Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah has presented his government’s legislative programme to parliament and the wait for a much-anticipated crown prince appointment goes on. Critics inside and outside the National Assembly are likely to make political life difficult for the premier in the coming months. The Diplomatic brief section leads with a look at  the European Union's sanctioning of two UAE-based companies over commercial and military ties to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a UN report that says evidence of UAE arms supplies to the rebel RSF are ‘credible’. The issue also includes a new 'Wealth watch' section, covering developments within sovereign wealth funds and other Gulf-based investment plays. A new expanded version of GSN's Risk management reports series- starts with Iraq. The GSN View examines the art of soft power projection by regional heavy-hitters Saudi Arabia and the UAE.