Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Pakistan

Economics

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Dec. 3 reached a consensus on investment terms concerning a potential free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, Arab News Pakistan reported on Dec. 4.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia: Consensus on Investment Terms Bodes Well for Possible FTA

Israel

Jordan

Palestinian Territories

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Military & Security

Politics

Bahrain's ambassador to Israel, Khalid Yusuf Ahmed Aljalahma, returned to Manama after his Israeli counterpart had returned to Israel earlier, Bahrain News Agency reported Nov. 2.

Bahrain, Israel: Bahrain and Israel's Ambassadors Return to Their Respective Countries 

Bahrain granted "golden licenses" to five companies who made large-scale investment promises totaling $1.4 billion, Al Arabiya reported June 15.

Bahrain: Bahrain Grants Inaugural Golden Licenses 

Qatar and Bahrain will resume diplomatic ties after almost six years, The Bahrain News Agency and Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on April 13.

Qatar, Bahrain: Countries to Resume Diplomatic Ties, but Relationship Remains Fragile

United States

Egypt

Morocco

Representatives from the foreign ministries of Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are meeting in Manama, Bahrain, for the first steering committee meeting of the Negev Summit, which is intended to address regional security and economic cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa, The Times of Isreal reported June 27.

MENA: Negev Summit Steering Committee Meets in Manama, Bahrain

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Bahrain's Interior Ministry announced a new Golden Residency Visa that allows long-term residents to gain permanent residency once they have lived in the country for five years and earn around $5,300 a month, Reuters reported Feb. 7.

Bahrain: Golden Residency Visa's Low Requirements Highlight Demographic, Economic Strategy

Security

Israel's Survival Strategy

Israel and Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding that provides the framework for defense cooperation between the two countries, which includes intelligence sharing, joint training and cooperation between defense industries and research, Reuters reported Feb. 3.

Israel, Bahrain: New Defense Agreement Strengthens Bilateral Relations

Lebanon

Iran's Arc of Influence

Social Issues

Crossing Borders

The Pulse of Political Islam

Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi ordered the deportation of non-Lebanese members of the Bahraini Shiite opposition party and association Al Wefaq, Reuters reported Dec. 15.

Lebanon: Government to Deport Members of Bahraini Opposition Group

Assessments

Iraq

Syria

Tunisia

Turkey

Yemen

Students from the American University of Beirut (AUB) rally in support of Palestinians outside the main gate of the university in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 9, 2023. 

Israel's likely ground invasion in Gaza will alienate many Muslims in the Middle East, pressuring their governments to respond in support of Palestinians.

Gauging the Regional Response to the Gaza Conflict

Guidance

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Uruguay

China

Europe

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: EU and Chinese Officials Talk Trade, Israel Hosts an Abraham Accords Summit

Snapshots

A portrait of Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi is seen on a billboard in Sanaa, Yemen, on Oct. 31, 2021. 

The Yemen Civil War

By alienating wealthy Arab Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, a Lebanese official’s show of support for Iran-backed proxies risks deepening his country’s financial crisis.

A Row Over Yemen Sends Lebanon-Gulf Ties Spiraling

Hong Kong SAR, China

North Korea

Iran

India

Zhang Xiaoming (C), Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, at the end of a State Council press conference on Hong Kong electoral reform March 12, 2021, in Beijing.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended Stratfor articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: The Mainland Finalizes Hong Kong Reforms, Biden Reviews North Korea Policy

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Talaat Fahmy speaks during an interview in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 19, 2021.

COVID-19

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

As it emerges from isolation, Doha will be forced to rely less on its ties to the Islamist group and more on diplomatic efforts to gain influence abroad. 

What Does the End of the Qatar Blockade Mean for the Muslim Brotherhood? 

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf holds a press conference at the end of the GCC's 41st summit in the city of al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Jan. 5, 2021. 

The Saudi Survival Strategy

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Riyadh is trying to appease the incoming Biden administration, but U.S. concerns with its nuclear program and regional behavior will continue to drive rifts. 

What’s Driving Saudi Arabia to Ease Its 3-Year Qatar Blockade 

A South Korean-flagged tanker is escorted in the Persian Gulf after being seized by the Iranian navy on Jan. 4, 2021. 

U.S.-Iran Relations

Cyber

Tehran's increased nuclear and naval activity in recent days risks provoking a military response in the region, including a potential U.S. strike on Iranian soil. 

What to Make of the Latest Uptick in Iranian Aggression 

Sudan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz (left) attend a cabinet meeting in the Knesset on May 24, 2020.

Should the vote yield a more right-wing government with a new leader, Arab and Muslim states may pause or even reverse their pursuit of normalized Israeli ties.

What Another Israeli Election Means for Netanyahu and Normalization 

Qatar’s defense minister (center) waits for the arrival of his Turkish counterpart to meet with the prime minister of Libya’s U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli on Aug. 17, 2020. 

The Libyan Civil War

The easing of the Qatar blockade may help resolve the current GCC crisis, but it won't unite Arab Gulf states’ divergent regional policies.

A Potential Breakthrough in Qatar Paves the Way for GCC Reconciliation 

Columns

On Geopolitics

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attend the funeral of Rabbi Aharon David Hadash, the spiritual leader of the Mir Yeshiva, in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Beit Yisrael on Dec. 3, 2020.

The dynamic among right-wing factions might prove more influential on Israeli behavior than external pressure from allies or enemies.

Where Will Israel’s Increasingly Right-Wing Youth Take Its Foreign Policy?

Media

Podcasts

In this episode of the Essential Geopolitics podcast, Emily Donahue speaks with Middle East and North Africa analyst Ryan Bohl about signs that a yearslong blockade in the Gulf may be about to crack. 

Essential Geopolitics: Breaking a Blockade in the GCC

A man walks past the flags of the countries attending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on Dec. 5, 2017. 

A Crude Recovery

Broken Contracts in the Middle East

The proposed tax for wealthy Omani citizens underscores the growing pressure on GCC states to reduce their heavy reliance on oil and gas revenue.

Oman’s New Income Tax Will Offer a Test Case for the Arab Gulf 

The island of Bahrain is the smallest country in the Persian Gulf, sitting just off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and the western coast of Qatar. It has almost no forestry to speak of and very little arable land. The country's only natural resources are a dwindling supply of hydrocarbons.      But because Bahrain has an ancient natural oasis, it is also one of the oldest inhabited places in the Gulf; there is evidence that the island was host to the Dilmun civilization as far back as the 4th millennium BCE. Bahrain was often the base of great powers who sought to control the Persian Gulf, including the ancient Assyrians, the Safavid Persians and, most recently, the British Empire. The Safavid Persians left behind a large community of Shiite believers, although the island has been under the rule of a Sunni dynasty since the 18th century.     Bahrain's main geographic challenge is securing export routes through the narrow Strait of Hormuz so it can access the wider oceans, but it rarely has the strength to do this on its own. It also often becomes the pawn of greater powers and struggles to defend itself against invaders. The country thus seeks to ally itself with outside powers that will protect it and also allow it to export its hydrocarbons. Most recently, Bahrain also has sought allies that will also protect its Sunni dynasty from its Shiite majority, who have been agitating to gain more control of the country.

SITUATION REPORTS

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia: Consensus on Investment Terms Bodes Well for Possible FTA

Bahrain, Israel: Bahrain and Israel's Ambassadors Return to Their Respective Countries

Bahrain: Bahrain Grants Inaugural Golden Licenses

Qatar, Bahrain: Countries to Resume Diplomatic Ties, but Relationship Remains Fragile

MENA: Negev Summit Steering Committee Meets in Manama, Bahrain

Bahrain: Golden Residency Visa's Low Requirements Highlight Demographic, Economic Strategy

Israel, Bahrain: New Defense Agreement Strengthens Bilateral Relations

Lebanon: Government to Deport Members of Bahraini Opposition Group

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